Devoid
by orangeyhairedimmortal
Summary: When Kagome returns to the Feudal Era, she finds out from Shippo that someone has taken everyone captive, including InuYasha and Sesshomaru. Upon find the castle, the two find the brothers but they are both human and not in good shape. Who did this, how did they do it, and can they return the brothers back before it's too late? human!Inuyasha, human/tortured!Sesshomaru, AU
1. Chapter 1

**this is a remake of the one i had before. i'm making this a little different but of course, on the same subject. so... it'll take just a little bit to get to the juicy parts but it will be worth it. i tell you.**

* * *

It was a great day in Japan as Kagome Higurashi opened up her window and took a deep breath. It was the first part of autumn, one of Kagome's favorite months, and she looked around at the clear skies above her. It was a rarity to see them and with the clear skies showing above her, it made her want to go back to Feudal Japan where InuYasha was and see what they were doing. She hoped that the weather was the same as it was now but knowing the time travelling part, it was a tossup. Either way, she wanted to go back and see what her friends were up to and maybe go look for more Shikon shards.

Instead of wearing her school uniform, since it was the weekend, she put on a pair of nice shorts and a nice shirt and her tennis shoes. She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail to get it from her face. She hoped a little that they didn't go looking for the jewel shards immediately when she got there so she could just have some alone time but packed all of her gear for the just in case. She pulled the backpack over her shoulders and descended down the stairs.

"Where are you going, Kagome? To see InuYasha again?" Souta asked as he walked back up the stairs with a bowl of cereal in his hand.

"Yeah I figured I'd take advantage of this weather."

Souta nodded and walked all the way up the stairs.

Mrs. Higurashi was just finishing cleaning the kitchen when she spotted her daughter coming down from the stairs.

"Oh, Kagome, dear, are you going to the well today?"

"Yeah I thought it would be a good idea."

"Well, I just got done packing all of this into Tupperware but if you want it you're welcome to take it all. In fact, it would probably be best." She said with a slight laugh.

Kagome smiled and took the three containers her mother was holding out to her. She took off her backpack and stuck the containers in the bag.

"Thanks, Mom. I'm sure Shippo and InuYasha will be happy to try some of your cooking. There's not curry in this, right?"

"No, I learned my lesson on that." Her mom said with a laugh, remembering the first time InuYasha had eaten curry.

Though the incident was funny, she had to admit that the amount of explicatives that erupted from the hanyou's mouth was not something she wished to hear again.

Kagome smiled, remembering too, and then looked at her watch.

"Oh, I have to go now. I'll see you as soon as I can come back!"

Her mother waved her off and she went to the shrine that held the well that took her back in time. She looked in, seeing the bottom of the well, but she knew that she would never hit the bottom. No matter how many times she jumped in, she just would never get to the bottom.

Nodding, she braced herself as she sat on the edge of the well. She slowly pushed herself off the edge and began to fall. She fell and-

"Oomph!" Kagome yelled, hissing at her ankle most likely bruised from the fall.

She looked up and frowned that she could still see the underside of the roof of the shrine. She growled and climbed up the well, sitting back on the edge. She made a face and looked around for a second and frowning.

"Grandpa, you jerk!" she yelled, ripping a talisman off of the side of the well. "You could have broken my leg!"

After readjusting herself, she closed her eyes and breathed in again. She slipped off the well's edge and began to fall, properly floating in between time and space.

* * *

When she arrived at the bottom of the well, she smiled and began to climb up the side of the stonework, gripping in between the stones and going up the side of the wall. As she made her way to the top of the well, grabbing the side, the wood pulled up from the top and she fell back into the well. Screaming, she landed harshly on the bottom of the well. She rubbed her bottom from the brace of the fall and made a face, confused as to what was going on. Why was the top of the well rotten?

"That InuYasha has been neglecting it again. I told him that it's dangerous for me if he doesn't keep the top of this intact…"

She finally got over the well and threw her backpack over the side. As she slung her legs over the side, she noticed that the sky was pretty clear in the Feudal Era as well. The sky may have been clear but when she turned to go toward the village, she gasped, seeing smoke rising in the sky from where the village had been. She picked up her backpack and ran toward it.

* * *

Kagome fell to her knees as she looked at the burnt down village. She wondered what could have happened, where was InuYasha? He had promised to protect the village while she was gone. Who could have done such a thing?

"Kagome! Kagome!" she heard a small voice yelling in the distance.

Kagome looked around, trying to find out who was calling her, when she saw something flying into her arms. She caught it and realized immediately that it was Shippo as he cried against her chest.

"Shippo…"

"Kagome, it's terrible!" he wailed.

"Shippo, what happened? Why is the village in ashes? Where is InuYasha?"

"That's just it, Kagome, someone came and captured everyone! InuYasha tried to stop them but they had this- this thing that made him unable to fight! It was really weird, Kagome! Then they took everyone, including InuYasha and even Sesshomaru!"

"Sesshomaru? What was he doing here?"

"He was visiting Rin. They took everyone but InuYasha told me to hide because he knew that you would be back and that someone had to be here."

"Do you know where they took them?"

"No but I know where they were going. There is a huge castle that's on a hill a little ways from here. The man was leading everyone there."

"And you said that even _Sesshomaru_ got captured?"

"Oh yeah! He and InuYasha actually tried to work together to keep the village safe but the man used this weird instrument that made InuYasha fall to his knees like when you yell out 'sit' and it made Sesshomaru go on a rampage. He got so angry and turned into his full yokai form and then all of a sudden he fell over just like InuYasha, turning back into his human form. They were both knocked out and carried away."

"How did you keep away?"

"Like I said, InuYasha told me to hide when the fighting started."

"How long has it been since then? I mean, the smoke is still rising…"

"It's been about three days since then."

"Take me to them, Shippo. I have to help them!"

"Sure thing!"

The fox kit jumped out of her arms and began walking down the path with Kagome following in worry of her friends. Who could have done this?

* * *

 **so off they go to rescue the two. what will they find?**


	2. Chapter 2

With Shippo in the lead, Kagome made headway towards the castle that he said was in the direction they were heading. Kagome was in a whirl with too many questions that didn't have enough answers. Who would want to burn the whole village down? How could they have subdued both InuYasha _and_ Sesshomaru? How could they have made Sesshomaru turn back into his humanoid state while being in his yokai state? Kagome had seen that massive dog lord and even InuYasha fighting him was hard to do. The questions just seemed to keep coming when Kagome almost tripped over Shippo, who had stopped in the middle of the road.

"Shippo!"

She looked at her friend but noticed that he was cowering, practically terrified as he looked forward. Kagome turned to look at what he was looking at and saw the large castle looming at the edge of a far off mountain side. Even Kagome gave a small gulp of apprehension.

"I'm going to assume that that is the castle?"

Shippo nodded stiffly. "I- I think so. I remember them going this way."

"Who owns that castle? I sense such a powerful presence there…"

"I don't know. I don't recognize it but… but that's where he led everyone."

Kagome bent down and held out her hands out to Shippo.

"I can see you're scared. Come on, I'll carry you the rest of the way."

"Thank you, Kagome…" he said, holding onto her tightly.

She held onto him pretty tight as well as they went toward the castle.

* * *

When they finally got to it, it was almost dark and Kagome decided they should at least have something to eat before they tried to sneak in. She gave Shippo some of the candy she had brought as well as fixed them both a cup of ramen. Once they were full, Kagome sighed and stood up.

"You ready, Shippo?"

"Yeah…"

He jumped back into her arms and they made their way to the entrance of the castle, watching as a trail of people walked into it, all held by chains. The castle had a drawbridge that they were going across but was simple nonetheless.

"How are we going to get in, Kagome?"

"I'm thinking if we hang out until the last person goes in on those chains then I can slip into the line and go in like everyone else. We'll go around the side here and see where it ends so I can blend in."

"What about me? They'll know I don't' belong."

"You may have to go in a different way. Can you do something so that you won't be noticed?"

"I can use my cloud. I hope it doesn't run out before we get to the entrance."

Kagome nodded as they went through the brush to head to the end of the line of people. When they saw it, there was unfortunately a guard. Kagome cursed as she thought of what to do.

"Shippo, can you distract the guard for a few seconds so that I can get at the end of the line?"

"Sure thing!" he said, even though his voice shook.

Shippo ran towards the guard and jumped up, turning into his pink balloon self and started bouncing on the guard's head, making him distracted. As the guard tried to catch Shippo, Kagome slipped behind the last person and finally Shippo 'disappeared', the guard mumbling under his breath about 'odd things about' and went to the back of the line. Kagome sighed of relief that the guard didn't notice her as she made sure to walk like the others while she went into the castle.

When she finally got in, the gate closed and the guard that was behind her left to go up front. Kagome looked around for a second and saw Shippo against the wall. She motioned for him to go and find InuYasha and he nodded, running away down a hallway. Kagome looked around again and slowly began to back away from the line of people when an evil aura overtook the courtyard and made Kagome look up. Coming out of the large window was a strange looking creature with no hair and green and slimy skin. _A kappa…_ Kagome perceived but she then gasped, noticing a shining light in its head. _A Shikon Jewel shard!_

"Welcome to my castle." He said, looking down at the line of people below him, his deep watery voice as slimy as him. "I am Jurishi, the Kappa King. You will be kept for safe keeping until we finish our meals from the other towns that we have captured…"

Kagome quickly slipped away and went toward the hallway where she thought she saw Shippo heading. _I hope we're not too late…_

* * *

Once Kagome was able to slip away from the crowd, she found herself lost in the corridors of the castle and tried to focus on just finding InuYasha. She grabbed a torch from the wall and began to go down a flight of stairs, which she hoped led to some sort of dungeon.

"Shippo!" she whisper-yelled, still going down the stairs. "Shippo, where did you go?"

She didn't hear anything (nor did she expect to) and slowly kept going down the stairs. As she got to the end of them, she thought that she heard the sounds of children crying. She made a face but kept going when she entered the cells of the dungeon. Kagome gasped as she looked at all of the children that were in the cells, chained and unchained. She noticed the farther she went, the more the children grew older, until she was in the 'teenage' section of the cells.

"You, lady!" someone yelled, making Kagome jump.

She looked over at a young man about her age that was leaning on the bars.

"Yes?"

"You better get out of here before he gets a hold of you. Is that your real age?"

"Yes…? What's going on here?"

"That kappa king is really powerful. He captures the villagers and then destroys their home. Then, he uses his powers to turn people into children."

"Children? Why would he do that?"

"Kappas are known for eating children but trying to find them without a parent around is sometimes impossible. So, he decided to just turn the parents into children as well; the more the merrier or something."

"Don't kappas eat small children though? Like the ones in the front of the cells?"

"Yeah but it takes him a bit to make us older people turn into the little children. We take time."

"So… how old are you?"

"I was fifty. This is my second round of that crazy power he has… Last I heard, from some of the older ones, he even got a hold of some yokai."

"He did?! Where are they?"

"They're in the back of the dungeon in their own spot. They're the hardest to get down to size, being so old and all. He was… not kind to them."

"What do you mean? Tell me, I think they were my friends." Kagome said, practically shaking the bars.

"I only heard about it but this guy over here knows. Hey, Chizo!" he yelled behind him. "Come tell this nice girl what you told me about those yokais."

Kagome waited, hoping that no guards came, as another young man walked up to the bars.

"Lady Kagome?" he said, looking at her in confusion.

"You know me?"

"You help Lady Kaede with all of the herbal necessities and you also are friends with that hanyou boy, InuYasha."

"Yes, I am. Tell me, where are they? InuYasha and Sesshomaru…"

"Like Kino said, they're down there in a separate chamber but… I don't think what you'll find is going to be good at all. See, not only does this kappa have the ability to change adults into children, he has enough power to even suck out the yokai powers in yokai, reducing them to nothing more than humans."

Kagome couldn't believe that.

"You mean… you mean he extracts the yokai blood from them? How is that possible? Only the Shikon Jewel is capable of that…"

"Not quite sure how he does it, but I heard one of the guards talking and they were talking about how the kappa kind reduced the two yokai he captured to mere humans. The hanyou was easy since he was already half human but the other one… well, they said he had a hard time with that one and so some other measures were taken. Turning them human was the first step in the process to turning them into children. From what I understand, he has only gotten so far…"

"All we know is that we can hear the screams from here." Kino said, shaking his head. "Those poor boys…"

"Kagome! Kagome!"

Kagome turned as Shippo jumped into her arms.

"I was looking for you."

"I found them! InuYasha and Sesshomaru but… but they don't look the same or smell the same. I also smell a lot of blood."

Kagome made a face and set Shippo down.

"Lead the way, Shippo. Thanks guys for the information!"

Kagome ran off with Shippo to locate InuYasha and Sesshomaru.

* * *

They went through another hallway when Shippo stopped at a door and jumped up, looking through the bars.

"They're in here. I told InuYasha that you were here…"

Kagome moved him as he got on her shoulder and looked in through the bars.

"InuYasha? InuYasha are you in there?"

"Kagome?" she heard faintly.

Her heart skipped a beat as she sighed of relief.

"Yes! Yes, it's me!"

"Kagome, what the hell?! You have to get out of here! If that kappa thing finds you then you'll be eaten!"

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Seriously, Kagome, get out of here. It'll take him a while to get to me and Sesshomaru but you can easily be turned into a child and eaten. If you did I would never forgive you."

"I'm _not_ leaving without you."

Kagome heard him scoff and she looked around, trying to figure out how to get them out there.

"Shippo, do you see a key anywhere?"

"I'll see if I can find one."

"It's not use. It's on a guard… Please, Kagome, get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without you. How hard is that to understand?"

"If you have to save someone, save Sesshomaru."

Kagome gawked at the door between them and then grabbed the bars on the door.

"What do you mean by that?! You've _never_ told me to do something like that before."

"He's in worse shape than I'm in… I'm used to turning human and being human, at least for a night every month but Sesshomaru… they really messed him up."

Kagome frowned at the door, very confused.

"I thought the village had only been destroyed three days ago? Why are you talking as if it's been a while?"

"Three days? It can't be that short. We've been here at least three _months_."

"Months?! Wait, did you tell Shippo to hide?"

"Yeah, I told him to wait for you…"

"I got the keys, Kagome!"

"Shippo, you said that the village was destroyed only three days ago."

"It was."

"InuYasha said that they have been in the dungeon for at least three months."

Shippo frowned. "That can't be right. It's really only been three days, I promise." He said, holding out the key ring to her.

Kagome took it and tried to keys and finally unlocking the door. It swung open and she walked in, finding InuYasha in human form chained to the wall. She ran to him quickly, hugging him around the neck. InuYasha took in her sweet smell and her warmth, not afraid to hug her back.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he asked.

"I know… InuYasha, Shippo said that's it's only been three days since the fire. Did something happen? I mean…"

"I don't know. I swear it's been three months. I would know if it were only three days but look at the etchings on the wall. I've been counting the days…"

Kagome and Shippo looked at the wall and sure enough, the numbers counted out to a little over ninety, which is three months or so. Kagome looked at the wall, dumbfounded. How in the world could that be? A cough caught their attention as InuYasha turned quickly.

"Are you planning on getting us both out of here undetected?"

"I was going to try… Where's Sesshomaru?"

"Over there but he's… he's in really bad shape. I've never seen someone like him go through the stuff he went through. Even _I_ feel sorry for him."

Kagome walked over to Sesshomaru, who was laying against the wall. When she got there, she noticed that he wasn't breathing right and his usually stark white hair was as black as InuYasha's. Touching him, she noticed he had a fever and he opened his eyes a little. Upon seeing her, Sesshomaru flinched as if she were going to hit him. Kagome was deeply concerned.

"Dear god… who could reduce your brother to this state?"

"You see what I mean? Ain't no three days in that state of mind."

Kagome breathed in and walked over to InuYasha, unlatching his bind and then unlatching Sesshomaru's leg that was held by a shackle on his ankle. Shippo jumped into InuYasha's arms, hugging him as Kagome tried to get Sesshomaru to come with her. Every time she tried to touch him, he would jerk away and curl into a ball.

"Here, let me try…" InuYasha said, walking over. He touched Sesshomaru on the shoulder and shook him. "Hey, it's me. Someone's here to save us."

Nothing happened until InuYasha was putting his brother's arm around his shoulder, lifting him from the ground.

"Come on, we gotta go if you're going to save us. If we don't Sesshomaru may not be alive to a see another day. I know the way out of here through a back way."

Kagome nodded and followed the two out, wondering what in the world was going on and how it could have been done.

* * *

 **how could this have happened?! we'll see in the next part.**


	3. Chapter 3

**there is a reason for the ooc. there always is...**

* * *

By the grace of many gods that Kagome was unaware of and those she was, they were able to get out of the castle and ran back toward the village. They were a little slower than usual since InuYasha was carrying Sesshomaru practically all the way and he could barely walk himself but they finally got away and Kagome leaned up against a tree. She watched as InuYasha put Sesshomaru down gently and the older yokai immediately curled up into a ball. InuYasha looked at him for a moment and then looked at Kagome.

"You got anything to eat in that yellow bag of yours?"

Kagome smiled and looked in her backpack where her mother had sent the Tupperware with her.

"My mom packed some stuff for us but we'll need to build a fire to warm it up."

"I'll get firewood!" Shippo said, running off before Kagome could say anything.

She sighed and looked over at Sesshomaru, who was desperately trying to look as if he wasn't there.

"So… what happened? How in the world did you two get captured by a kappa? Especially Sesshomaru…"

InuYasha sat down and messed with his hair a little.

"The kappa is something else, let me tell you. He can somehow extract the yokai blood right out of you. I don't know how yet but I was hoping to get a look at that medallion he has and see if I could find a trigger." He looked at Sesshomaru for a second. "He liked using it on Sesshomaru. Every time he used it on him, he grew younger and younger, which the kappa was happy about, of course. He also liked to torture him, do whatever they could to him in his weakened state. I don't know everything they did to him but all I know is that the day he came back crying, I knew… I knew they were doing something I couldn't even fathom."

Kagome looked at Sesshomaru sympathetically as he tightened his fetal position even more.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"The only one he seems to be alright with is me. Dunno why, since he hates my guts…"

"Maybe there's a tiny bit of yokai left in him and he recognizes you…"

InuYasha shook his head. "There ain't a bit of anything in him. He's completely human now. Even that didn't stop that crazy kappa. They still kept using that medallion on him so that means that there is something else in that thing. He used it to make Sesshomaru younger and I think that's what he was using on the villagers as well."

Shippo came back with the small amount of wood he could carry and ran back to get more. While he was getting more to build up the fire, Kagome grabbed her matches out of her backpack and lit one up. She touched it to the sticks and they immediately flared. She heard a whimper and looked over at InuYasha as he looked at Sesshomaru. He was shaking now, not just in a fetal position. InuYasha's eyebrows furrowed.

"See? I don't know what the hell they did to him but I find out new triggers every day. I didn't know fire was one of them."

"I wish I could put it out but we need it to heat up the food… We also need to figure out how in the world three months passed for you when it had only been three days to Shippo."

Speaking of, he came back with a couple more sticks and sat down beside Kagome.

"I wanted to get more but they were all in trees. I'll go get some more when I get my strength up." He said, looking at Kagome apologetically.

"You're fine, Shippo. Thanks for getting it for us in the first place."

He beamed and then looked at InuYasha's haggard appearance.

"InuYasha, was it _really_ three months to you?"

He turned away from Shippo, not really wanting to discuss the horrors he'd seen and encountered but his own appearance gave away some of the tortures he'd endured.

"Yeah, Shippo, it was three months."

"We were just discussing that. There had to be something that made time bend or something." Kagome said, putting a small foldable grill over the fire and she pulled out a pan.

She poured the contents into the pan to warm it and Shippo sniffed.

"That smells really good, Kagome."

"My mom made it. She told me to tell you that it wasn't curry, since you had a fit about it last time."

InuYasha smiled sadly. "I miss your mom… I even miss that crazy curry stuff."

Kagome reached over and touched him on the leg, being careful not to come in too fast.

"We'll get everything back to normal, InuYasha. I promise."

InuYasha looked over at Sesshomaru.

"Yeah, tell him that."

They were silent for most of the night as Kagome warmed up the food and they ate.

Sesshomaru didn't eat anything.

* * *

During the night, Kagome woke up to the sound of someone making pitiful noises, like a lost animal on a stormy night. She sat up and looked around. She saw Sesshomaru still in the fetal position but he was shaking terribly again. She got up to see if she could be of help to him when he let out a whimper that broke Kagome's heart.

"He does that every night."

Kagome gasped, looking at InuYasha, who was leaned up against a tree.

"You're awake."

"Yeah."

"Why aren't you sleeping? You're safe now."

"Old habits die hard. I'm used to watching over him, making sure he is alright. He makes this noise every night. I don't know if he's dreaming or remembering. He was quiet before but I could never get a word out of him."

Kagome was struck by the sad whimper and went over to him, touching Sesshomaru's face softly. His eyes fluttered open for a second and he rolled them to look at Kagome. Deeming her uninteresting, he looked away and his eyes drooped again. Kagome sighed and touched his face again, noticing the warmth.

"He's warm… I'm pretty sure he has a fever. Are there any wounds on him?"

"Where would you like me to start?" InuYasha spat. Kagome looked at him in surprise and he looked away. "Sorry… I just… He's pretty much busted up all over."

Kagome nodded and decided to just start from the literal top and took hold of the top of Sesshomaru's kimono. She pulled back the flap and saw that InuYasha hadn't been kidding. Just from the small section of skin showing, Kagome couldn't even count the number of scars and still open wounds that were there.

"What the hell did they do to him?" she whispered.

"I wish I knew."

"We should get him to a hot spring. It would hurt but it would clean out the impurities of all the wounds and give us a clean slate…"

"Yeah, well, get him to go with you. I'm surprised he's being so calm about you semi-touching him."

"Dogs can tell when someone is trying to help."

"You aren't getting it, Kagome, he doesn't have any yokai in him anymore. He's completely human. There's nothing to sense or smell or hear. He's just like you."

Kagome was going to yell at him but she could tell that he was just tired. Tired of being captive, tired of being brave, tired of watching over Sesshomaru, tired of being tired…

"InuYasha, please go to sleep. I'll watch over Sesshomaru tonight."

InuYasha looked away with a sad look.

"I can't. I… I want to trust you, Kagome, but my body won't let me. I've been doing this for too long."

"Then undo it. I promise to make sure you're safe and your brother is safe."

"Don't you think I know that?!" he suddenly growled.

Kagome frowned and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I'm just… I know… I know you're here and that it's safe and I can go back to how things used to be but I can't. To me, you've been gone for three months and I've had to endure some hellacious things and also watch that stuck up asshole get reduced to a sniveling whatever you want to call it over there. I thought it would be fun to see him get his ass kicked around but… Hell, Kagome, if even that guy was captured and couldn't defeat that kappa then what makes you think you can? You can hardly hold your own bow and arrow, lest take down a Shikon infested kappa with a medallion that can regress people into children so he can have his fun."

"Well thanks for the confidence." Kagome growled.

"Kagome, I-"

He suddenly fell silent and Kagome looked back and saw that InuYasha was slumped over and Shippo was standing next to him. He looked at her and grinned.

"He's so tired that all I did was kick him in the face and he passed out."

Kagome sighed and moved InuYasha in a more comfortable position.

"Thank you, Shippo, but next time, try something different. He's human now so he may not be able to handle things like that. We don't need to kill him."

"Right. I'll remember."

Kagome smiled and looked back at Sesshomaru, who was no longer whimpering but was quiet. She went over to him and knelt beside his head. She leaned over and moved some of his ebony hair from his ear.

"I'll take care of you so there is no need to fear." She said softly.

Sesshomaru glanced at her but did nothing else.

Kagome kept to her promise and set up to watch over them in the night.

* * *

 **sorry it's short. and again, there is a reason why the sessh is the way he is.**


	4. Chapter 4

**sleepy = cranky jsyk**

* * *

InuYasha woke up with a throbbing headache and feeling overall like a carriage had run over him at least twelve times. Or like the time Kagome had 'sat' him into the ground over and over again. He moaned a little and sat up, dragging his bruised and sore body off the ground to look at his surroundings. At first, fear struck him as he realized that he was not in the cell of the kappa anymore. When he scanned the area again, he realized that he was at camp and especially when he saw Kagome's little yellow bag, he knew that at least he was safe. _He_ was but what about-

"Sesshomaru?" InuYasha called out softly.

Since he knew Sesshomaru would most likely not call back to him, he struggled to get to his aching feet and began to look for him, his now human eyes and sense of smell making it very hard to see in the dying embers of the fire and hard to smell due to the smoke and overall dullness of a human nose.

"Sesshomaru?" he hissed, holding his hands out to make sure he didn't bump into anything. "Where are you? Are you here?"

"InuYasha?"

The voice startled him and he turned toward the voice.

"Who's there?" he growled even though he was no more a threat than a baby.

"It's just me…"

A line of light suddenly pierced the darkness, pointing at the ground. It was moving across the ground and InuYasha backed up.

"D-don't come near me. I have nothing for you."

"What are you talking about?" Kagome said, shining the light to show her face. "It's just me…"

InuYasha put his hand over his heart, feeling it beat like crazy. He was still getting used to her voice again. He really wished he knew how that kappa had made time run so differently in the cells…

"Sorry… what is that thing?" he asked.

"This?" she said, holding up the tube. "It's a flashlight."

InuYasha looked at it and made a face.

"That's a torch. That fire comes out of the top of it and you're holding the bottom of it to not get hurt."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Some places actually call it that but I assure you, it's a flashlight. Not the point. What are you doing up?"

"I came to find Sesshomaru. I need to make sure he's alright."

"He's fine. He's over by me."

InuYasha made a face and then made another face.

"How do I know that you're the real Kagome?"

Kagome looked around for a minute, unsure of what to say at all.

"Um… because I'm here? I know what a flashlight is and I just made you dinner on a campfire that I lit with a lighter, or what you called travel flame."

The tightness in his chest loosened and he relaxed. He hated this. He hated that he couldn't trust his instincts anymore. He didn't *have* instincts to trust, technically. The fact the he couldn't identify his enemies pissed him off royally but not being able to identify his friends made him even angrier.

"InuYasha?" Kagome said, touching her hand to his shoulder softly. "What's wrong?"

" _Everything_. Everything is wrong and I don't know how to fix it… There has to be a way but I can't do anything because I'm a full human. If I still had some of my yokai blood…"

"InuYasha, there's nothing you can do now. The best thing for you to do is to rest. That should be your main priority."

"No, my priority is to make sure Sesshomaru is safe." He said, walking past her.

Kagome stopped him with her hand and looked up at him.

"Sesshomaru is fine; I promise that I have it under control."

InuYasha wanted to believe her and let it be, just like it had always been. But he knew the fake things people would say and especially to get to the humanized and disgraced Daiyoukai of the Western Lands? _Anyone_ would want to find Sesshomaru; to kick his ass if nothing else.

InuYasha had heard the screams from where he had been in the cells, every scream and cry… He didn't think his brother was capable of feeling anything, but all those times they would take him away, the sounds of the sad cries he heard let him know how much his brother had been reduced to nothing more than the sad being before him. He hated Sesshomaru for all the horrible things he had done to him and he had tried so hard to not care but seeing him get weaker and weaker each time was more than InuYasha's human heart could stand. He felt it was his duty now to protect the man from any potential dangers… even if that meant from Kagome.

"I can't." he said, going around Kagome to see Sesshomaru.

Kagome watched him with a sad look as he bent down next to Sesshomaru. He touched him slightly and Sesshomaru turned over a little.

"Hey, you doing alright?"

Sesshomaru said nothing, as usual, but with him being human now, his ability to keep his emotions underway was very hard and InuYasha could just see a ghost of a smile in the flicker of the dying flames. He smiled back and stood up, turning to look at Kagome. He could see the concern in her eyes and he looked away.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?" she asked, startled.

"Look at me like that… so full of pity. I know I'm not like I used to be but I'll turn back into a hanyou… I'll get my yokai blood back somehow." He said, clenching his fist.

"And… what if you can't?" Kagome asked softly.

InuYasha shot Kagome a glare that rivaled his own golden eyed gaze as a hanyou. For some reason, the gaze had more effect as a hanyou, his dog-like eyes making it more feral than the cow brown eyes he was sporting now.

"Out of the question." He hissed. "Sesshomaru and I will get our yokai blood back and be ourselves again. If you don't want to help then screw you."

"Hey! I resent that! I never said I wouldn't try to help you, I just asked what if you never got it back… You're too sensitive."

InuYasha was uncharacteristically hurt by the comment. She had no idea what he had to go through for three months in that cell. It may have been three days for her but the suffering he had to deal with and the horrible after effects on Sesshomaru…

"I'm sorry that I'm too _sensitive_ for you, Kagome. Maybe I should just leave and take Sesshomaru with me so that my _sensitivity_ won't get in the way of your fun."

Kagome gripped the flashlight hard.

"That's not fair, InuYasha. You can't take it out on me. You won't talk to me about what happened and I'm still comprehending that it's been three months for you and not for me. When I saw you last, you were healthy, a hanyou that hated his half-brother, and just waiting for me to get back so that we could look for more jewel shards. This is why I'm telling you to need sleep. It's not even dawn yet…"

"Well you don't get a lot of sleep in a cell."

Kagome sighed and lowered the flashlight to the ground.

"Do whatever you want, InuYasha."

She picked up her sleeping bag and moved it to the other side of the campfire to get away from him. She didn't fully understand the issue, having never been in a cell for three months, but as much as she wanted to help InuYasha, whether he knew it or not, all he kept doing was blaming her for what happened and she didn't need any more guilt added to her.

* * *

Sesshomaru opened his eyes and was surprised that he was outside. He hadn't seen the sky in ages, or so it felt. He suddenly remembered that he was no longer his normal self and immediately scrunched into the fetal position. It had helped more than he ever thought it would and now understood why those lower than him had always done it. This position had saved him many a times. After a minute, he realized that he was not in danger and opened his eyes again. He swallowed, his throat dry, and prayed that he would be able to hold himself up with his arms if he pushed himself off the ground to look around better. Being malnutritioned had never been a look Sesshomaru had sought after…

He cautiously put his palms on the ground and pushed himself up, the weight making his arms wobbly, but he finally got onto his hip. A searing pain went through him and he automatically yelped. Hissing at the pain, he slowly moved to try and sit down but no matter what he did, the pain was unbearable and he finally yelled again, giving up and plopping back to the ground. _This is pathetic…_ he thought to himself, looking at a blade of grass. _I am Sesshomaru, the Daiyokai of the Western Lands… whether I look like it or not. I can go through anything and bear any pain. This is **not** who I am._

"Are you alright? You look like someone made you really mad."

He moved his eyes look and see that Kagome was staring down at him. He recognized her as his brother's human. He couldn't remember her name –since she wasn't very significant to him- but he did remember she had saved them. Kagome knelt down in front of him and smiled a little.

"I'm sure you don't remember me. I'm Kagome, InuYasha's friend. InuYasha is in a drug induced sleep at the moment so I'll be taking care of any needs you may need."

Sesshomaru had the strength to lift an eyebrow and she smiled.

"He needed rest and wouldn't take it." She reached out towards him and he clenched into the fetal position again. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I just need to check your temperature. I brought a thermometer from my house just in case of emergencies. I just need to stick it in your mouth…"

* * *

 _"We'll just stick this in your mouth there, so that you don't make any sounds. Do you have a good view, dog? I want you to be able to see this!"_

* * *

Kagome had just about gotten the thermometer in when Sesshomaru tightened his lips closed, making it almost impossible for her to get it in his mouth. She frowned as he glared at her.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Sesshomaru. If I don't do this you may die of fever and infection. It's not like you guys have hospitals around here…" she grumbled, knowing that all she had was aspirin and that was about it.

Sesshomaru still didn't budge and Kagome sighed (which was becoming common) and sat back on her heels.

"Between the two of you, I don't know which one I want to smack the most. InuYasha for trying to blame me for everything or you for not cooperating when you need the most help… I guess I'll just sit back and let you two do what you want and whenever you need me, I'll be there."

Sesshomaru released a breath he didn't realize he had been holding as she walked away. He could sense that she was nothing like the people who had reduced him to a human and did horrible things to him but he couldn't trust her. He had trusted too many times during his 'stay' with the kappa and he knew there was a reason he had stopped doing it in the first place.

* * *

 **poor kagome. she's just trying to help and has an overly cautious inuyasha down her throat, unknowingly blaming her for the issue they are in and a usually stubborn sesshomaru who won't accept help from anyone even when his life depends on it. he is literally covered in open wounds but he won't let anyone touch him but that fever has to go down first...**


	5. Chapter 5

_"Come now, Lord Sesshomaru, don't you want to see the last of her? Don't be modest now. She's such a **sweet** girl… A sweet, sweet girl…"_

* * *

"Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru's eyes flew open wide and he found himself breathing heavily, as if he had been running. Kagome was looking down at him with a curious and concerned expression.

"What's wrong? You looked like you were having a horrible dream."

Sesshomaru licked his lips for a second and even though he didn't have to, if she would leave him alone, he would tell her his concern.

"I was remembering something." He said, his voice raspy and it made his throat sore just to talk.

Kagome smiled, seeming to understand the plight, and sat in front of him cross legged.

"I'm so glad you're well enough to talk!"

He really wasn't and hearing his sad voice try to make verbal communication only urged that fact. He decided his silence was best until he was strong enough. Kagome seemed to understand and her smile faded just a little.

"You must be thirsty. You haven't eaten or drank anything since Shippo and I found you guys."

"We tried to get you to eat something but you kept holding your mouth closed like a trap!" Shippo said, popping up behind Kagome's shoulder.

Sesshomaru didn't really want to hear the fox kit talk or be bothered but he _was_ hungry and they seemed to be offering it freely. _Wait. What kind of food is it?_

"Would you like for me to fix you something? I know it may not be as gourmet for you but InuYasha and Shippo seem to enjoy ramen. Would you consider that?"

Sesshomaru had heard about this ramen from InuYasha in the cells. Anything to get his mind off of the things he had seen were good enough for Sesshomaru. He didn't like InuYasha but his adventures with his human woman had kept his mind occupied as he tried to figure out how to get out of the cell and how to keep from breaking. That being said, since the girl was here and this 'ramen' was available, Sesshomaru nodded his head softly to indicate that he would like to try this food.

Kagome smiled. "Splendid! I'll get the water ready."

She walked away and Shippo stood next to him, staring.

"Your eyes are different. Not just in colors, I mean. You've seen horrible things, haven't you Lord Sesshomaru?"

* * *

 _"Lord Sesshomaru! I thought you'd never come!"_

 _"Rin." He said as the young woman jumped into his arms._

 _He was not accustomed to hugging but Rin seemed to enjoy it. Whatever made her happy made him… not so brooding._

 _"I'm so glad you're here. I missed you so much. What have you been doing?"_

 _"My duty as a daiyokai."_

 _"Young Rin, why is it that every time we meet it seems you get a little bit duller than before?"_

 _"Master Jaken!" she yelled, grabbing the imp._

 _"Let me go!" he yelled, scrambling in her arms._

 _Sesshomaru **almost** let a smile show as it reminded him of when they journeyed together._

* * *

Sesshomaru suddenly curled up into a ball and shivered. Shippo watched him for a moment and then walked over to Kagome.

"Kagome, he's in a ball again."

She looked over and sighed. "He'll only keep hurting that hip of his."

"What do you mean?"

"His hip is either broken, fractured, or dislocated. He can't sit down right and when he tried to turn over some time ago, he couldn't even do that."

"When's InuYasha going to wake up?"

At hearing his brother's name, Sesshomaru stopped shivering.

"Well, he's kind of in a deep slumber. I had to give him sleeping pills or he would have done something stupid."

Shippo nodded. "Do you think Miroku and Sango are alright?"

"Kagome stopped opening the ramen cup and stared at Shippo with wide eyes.

"W-were they captured too?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I remember them fighting but everything got all crazy and I just know InuYasha grabbed me and stuffed me in a hole and told me to wait for you."

Now Kagome was shaking, hoping that Miroku and Sango were alright and not taken by the kappa… She tried to keep herself together as the kettle began to boil and she poured the water into the ramen cup to let it steep. She pulled her knees to her chest, thinking about what to do about everything. The main thing, of course, was to get the Shikon shard from the kappa so that he wasn't so powerful and then try to find out what he was doing to make the people younger. Then she would have to find the cure and get everyone back to normal… well, anyone who wished it. She was pretty sure some old timers wouldn't mind staying in their younger forms if they weren't too young…

But before she could do any of that, even really think about going against the kappa, Kagome needed to find a place that could evaluate Sesshomaru's hip and care for his wounds as well as someplace to stay until InuYasha got better. Kagome's mother only packed so much for her and she was just in middle school, not a doctor. Plus, now that Shippo mentioned them, she needed to make sure that Miroku and Sango were alright.

Deeming the ramen cooked enough, Kagome walked over to Sesshomaru, who had seemed to relax, and sat in front of him.

"I don't know how you want to do this. If we move you, we may hurt you more but you can't eat sitting like that."

Sesshomaru wanted to punch her in the face but refrained since it would take too much energy and after learning his lesson on swift reactions from the kappa, he decided to keep his distance from Kagome until _he_ was sure she was safe. He trusted InuYasha's judgment and he sensed no malice from the girl, but they didn't go through the hell he did. They knew nothing…

Although he didn't like her attitude towards him, he wanted food. His stomach felt like it didn't exist anymore and as long as it wasn't meat, he believed he could keep it down. Bracing himself, he tried to get up on his elbows but tightening his muscles only shot pain through his hip and other places he was sure were not in their best states and he ended up back on the ground again.

Kagome would have helped him but felt that bruising his pride would be more detrimental than the bruises his body had already. He finally looked at her with a glare and she moved her mouth a little.

"Would you like some help, Sesshomaru?"

He frowned but nodded a little and Kagome started trying to turn him over.

* * *

The sound of screaming alerted InuYasha but it was like his brain was running through water. He could hear the screaming and knew who it was, but his body wouldn't move like he wanted it to. _Oh no you don't! Not this time!_ he snarled in his mind, forcing himself to wake up. It was hard to keep his eyes open but when he heard more screams, he found the strength to keep them open long enough to see Kagome trying to turn Sesshomaru over. Sesshomaru was yelling in pain and InuYasha clenched his fist.

Shippo was the first to see InuYasha and saw the irate look on his face. He also saw that he was half asleep.

"Kagome! InuYasha's coming over here!" he yelled, running to her.

Kagome didn't really care. They were almost over and although Sesshomaru's nails were digging into her skin, he seemed determined to turn over and both his and her pride were at stake.

"I think one more time will get it, alright? I'm _so_ sorry…"

In response, Sesshomaru just tightened his hold on Kagome's arms and she breathed in.

"Ready? One, two, THREE!" she yelled.

They both moved quickly to get Sesshomaru turned over all the way, finally doing it. They were both breathing hard and Sesshomaru was close to tears but he was finally on his back, a slight ease off of his other hip, which was sore from laying on it since he couldn't lay on the other.

Kagome sighed when she was suddenly knocked back, causing Sesshomaru to fall back to the ground a little harsh. Kagome looked up and saw InuYasha looking down at her, his eyes half slits and his hand clenched in a fist. She suddenly realized he had punched her in the face. Touching her cheek, she could tell it was swelling up.

"What the hell!?" she screamed.

"I will protect Sesshomaru at all costs! He's gone through enough, why can't you leave him alone?!"

"Kagome, I think he's sleep walking!" Shippo yelled.

She got up and walked towards him as he crouched, looking ready to pounce.

"Don't underestimate me! Just because I'm human now doesn't mean I won't go down without a fight. Give Sesshomaru back to me…"

"InuYasha, it's me, Kagome."

"Likely story. Kagome's been gone for months. She's _never_ coming back."

"I'm right here! InuYasha, wake up!"

"I _am_ awake! You won't trick me again with those silly images. Kagome is dead just like the others."

Kagome stopped and stared at him with wide eyes.

"The others? What others?"

"The only ones left are me and Sesshomaru. Why can't you just leave us in peace?!"

Kagome gulped but clenched her fists and then ran to InuYasha, wrapping her arms around him. He struggled for a second but she held fast, burying her face in his chest.

"Please wake up… Please… I'm here and I'm trying to help. It's really me, InuYasha. You're safe, Sesshomaru's safe. No one is going to hurt you anymore."

InuYasha seemed to relax a little and then Kagome felt his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair.

"Where am I?" he asked softly.

"At the campsite, where you've been for a couple of days now…"

"It's you right? It's really you?"

"Of course it is…"

"I heard Sesshomaru screaming and I just… I thought you were hurting him."

"We were trying to turn him over. His hip is most likely broken or fractured but he needed to eat… InuYasha, you said something about the others. You said… you said they were dead?"

He pulled back and looked at her, sorrow in his brown eyes.

"That's the only thing that I can think of. I lost track of them after we were captured but… even if they _were_ captured, they were human and they were young. The kappa would have turned them into children in no time and once they are small enough to his liking…"

Kagome touched his cheek softly.

"I can't believe that they are gone. First we need to get you two to a safer place to recover and then we'll try to find Sango and Miroku… then we'll defeat that stupid kappa. I know you aren't a hanyou anymore but we can't give up." She looked over at Sesshomaru. "We have to get you two back to normal."

InuYasha nodded and then noticed the bruise developing on Kagome's face.

"Did… did I do this?"

She smiled. "Nothing bad."

"I'm so sorry…"

"I understand, InuYasha. I'm not mad. I'll make you some ramen and then we'll all get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we need to find a safe place to go and I think I know just the place."

* * *

 **poor inuyasha. that ptsd has got him on all sorts of alerts. and we'll eventually find out what happened with the sessh but the question is where will they go and what about miroku and sango?**


	6. Chapter 6

**sorry for the absence on the inuyasha stories. i put myself in ruts and then have to figure out how to get out of them. anyway, here we go then**

 **ps: the wiki says that these people are like 15-20 and they are wrong. seriously. koga, sango, and miroku do NOT look like they are 18. they look 20. so yeah... just thought i'd say...**

* * *

"This was your bright plan?" InuYasha growled, looking at her. "He will destroy me."

"No he won't. How's Sesshomaru?"

InuYasha looked at his brother as Sesshomaru tried to not look as agonized as he was. It had been a couple of days since the sleep walking incident and InuYasha was back to having his normal strength but Sesshomaru was doing poorly. He could exactly carry his brother since he was human now so he had Sesshomaru's arm over his shoulders trying to help him along. Of course, with Sesshomaru's hip most likely broken, the journey was long and hard. Kagome had been nice enough to keep with them but doing uphill was the hard part.

"I think he'll make it but other than that…"

Kagome nodded. "I'll go up first and let him know you're coming. Then we can get Sesshomaru's hip fixed and Shippo and I will go try and find Miroku and Sango."

"The hell you will without me."

"Do you expect to leave Sesshomaru all by himself?"

InuYasha glared at Kagome as she did the same thing back. He turned his head away from her and Kagome sighed, shaking her head. She left Shippo with the other two and made her way up the cliff face.

* * *

"Kagome! I knew someday you'd leave that dog turd behind and come live with me."

"It's nice to see you again, Koga… um… is there a way you could put me down?"

"Sure thing." He said, setting her down. "What brings you up here?"

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything for you, Kagome." He said, holding her hands and looking into her eyes.

"It's InuYasha… he's… well, things got really bad at the village…"

Koga made a face. "What happened?"

Kagome was about to explain when she heard Shippo talking and InuYasha's arm came over the side of the cave. Shippo seemed to be carrying Sesshomaru in his bubble form and he floated to the floor as InuYasha walked over and grabbed Sesshomaru from him. InuYasha looked up as Koga stared at him in confusion.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked.

"Hell." InuYasha responded.

Koga sniffed a little and noticed Sesshomaru, who was breathing heavily off of InuYasha's shoulders.

"Isn't that… wait a second, I can't smell either of you at all. What the hell's going on?"

"Koga, let me explain." He looked at Kagome. "InuYasha and Sesshomaru were taken captive by a very powerful kappa that was affected by a Shikon Jewel shard. He has the ability to turn people into children so that he can eat them. He also somehow has the ability to strip yokai of their powers, reducing them to humans so that he can, again, revert them to children and eat them."

"And how did these two get caught up in this mess?"

"The kappa caught us off guard with his yokai stripping amulet. Sesshomaru was visiting Rin when this happened and we both went to fight him when our yokai abilities were suddenly just gone. We've been through hell."

"I can see that… what's wrong with him?"

"Sesshomaru's hip is most likely broken. We didn't know where else to go; could you please watch over them?"

"And… where will you be going?"

"InuYasha said that Miroku and Sango may still be there. I have to find them before they are eaten."

"So you want to go back to the evil kappa?"

"I have no choice. They wouldn't abandon me so I won't abandon them."

Koga made a face when Sesshomaru seemed to slink from InuYasha's grip due to dead weight and slipped out of his hand to the floor. He let out a pitiful scream since he fell on his bad hip and then curled up into the fetal position. InuYasha cursed, kneeling next to him. He brushed up against his skin and frowned, wondering how come he didn't notice it before.

"He's raging. Does anyone have a cool rag?"

"I'll go get some water from the river." Ginta said, grabbing a bucket and hopping down from the cave.

Koga looked on in confusion.

"Since when did he care about Sesshomaru?" he asked, knowing they had some sort of rivalry.

"After this incident. Something truly bad happened there… I thought that I was gone for three days but their prison somehow bent time and they were trapped for three _months_. Sesshomaru was tortured, as you can tell, but InuYasha said something really bad happened there and ever since then, InuYasha is quite protective."

"Don't touch him. Give that to me." InuYasha growled, snatching the wet rag from Ginta.

"Do you really plan on going back there by yourself?" Koga asked.

"I _have_ to find Miroku and Sango. I have to know if they are alive."

Koga sighed. "The mutts can stay here and if you need any assistance, you can take Ginta and Hakkaku."

"Eh? What? Why do we have to go?"

"Well I can't very well go. If I get caught by the kappa then who will lead you guys?"

"You're so cruel, Koga…" they said, tears falling down their faces.

* * *

"Run! Hurry!"

Miroku ran ahead of Sango as the Kappa King let out a roar of anger. Sango turned around and threw her Hiraikotsu but it merely grazed the kappa and she had a hard time catching it when it swung back to her.

"Sango, hurry!" Miroku yelled.

Sango hurried as he held up a grate with all his might and she jumped through it, Miroku behind her. The kappa growled again, angry at losing them as they huddled in the water passage. Miroku coughed and Sango put her arm around him.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What about InuYasha and Sesshomaru though? We have to save them."

"I heard from some villagers that they were already saved. I think Kagome came back."

"Why didn't she come for us then?"

"I'm sure she didn't even know we were captured. It's been three months since she's been back to the Feudal Era, so I'm sure she thought we weren't in the village."

Miroku coughed again but stood up. "We should get going."

"No. You're not well, Miroku. What did he give you before I came?"

"I don't know. I wasn't going to drink it but the other kappas were making me do it." Miroku staggered back to the wall. "I think it was a sleeping draught."

"What, are they _merciful_ kappa?" Sango growled. "Besides, it's not just that stuff. You've had that cough for a while now. What did they do to you back there?"

"Exposure to the elements, I suppose. No food or water… I think I'm getting sick."

"Great…"

"Hey, look on the bright side, at least you can carry me now."

Sango made a face. "That's not the point."

Miroku settled next to her and put his head on her arm.

"I'm going to sleep now."

Sango sighed but she could tell he didn't want to. The sleeping draught that the kappa made him drink was affecting him and soon he was sound asleep. Sango decided she should probably try to figure out a plan to get out of the castle and find out where Kagome took InuYasha and Sesshomaru. Not much had changed with her in the time they had been in the kappa's castle but somehow she and Miroku had gotten separated and a lot had changed with him. Sango had only been reverted a couple of years but looked pretty much the same; Miroku though, was about five or six. She was surprised, though, when he had come to rescue her from the other cell. He told her that this particular kappa was quite organized and separated his meals by age, putting the younger ones towards the front near the courtyard and the older ones in the back, so it made it easier to find her.

But now they were stuck in the water passage and Miroku was starting to get sick. They had been trying to escape for a month now, ducking in and out of places to try and not be seen, but as the month went on, Miroku's cough had gotten worse. They would scramble for food but it really wasn't enough compared to all the crouching and walking and running they did. Sango had to wonder how Kagome got out not one but _two_ people with such ease as she did. From the whispers she had heard, it only took them a day.

"Wind Tunnel!" Miroku yelled, suddenly waking up as he threw out his hand.

Luckily he didn't take off the prayer beads and he looked up at Sango.

"Sorry… I had a dream."

"I thought you were going to go to sleep?"

"I guess all the running around made the draught already go through my system. We should head out and look for the others." He said, standing up and wiping his nose.

"Miroku, you need to rest."

"I'm fine, Sango." He smiled at her. "I promise."

She didn't really believe him, since his face was flushed, but she didn't want to stay in the castle any longer than she had to. She got up and stuck Hiraikotsu on her back and held out her hand to Miroku.

"Come on, don't lag behind."

He took it and they headed towards the exit.

* * *

InuYasha watched as a doctor looked over Sesshomaru's condition and Kagome sat next to him with Shippo sleeping in her lap. She had wanted to go back to the castle immediately but Koga convinced her to wait until first light of the next day and get some rest from their journey to the mountains. In the mean time, Koga said they could find a doctor to help with Sesshomaru's hip and brought him up to their tribe. He was examining him for a proper diagnosis for Sesshomaru's pain. Kagome was surprised that this doctor was willing to help the wolf yokai tribe so effortlessly, not afraid at all.

"How did you convince him to come up here?"

"He's been quite observant of us for a while but he's saved countless members of my tribe. Cubs have fallen from the crags and he's patched them up, sending them back home, a couple of them have almost died from fights they couldn't win and he would always patch them up. Then, one day, he comes stumbling in here and we all found out that the townspeople didn't like that he was helping us and betrayed him, literally stabbing him in the back. We used what little expertise we could to keep him alive. After that, we came to a mutual understanding that we would help each other when needed. He helps my members when they are having issues and we help him gather herbs and stuff for his practice."

The doctor walked back over and looked at InuYasha.

"InuYasha, correct?"

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"You are his brother, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then do I have your permission to explain everything with your friends in sight? I… discovered some things that as a professional, I would know, but they are not pleasant."

"Sure. They'll just try to pull it out of me anyway."

"Well, for starters, the hip is broken. Luckily, not shattered, but it needs to be operated on immediately. He is also suffering from malnutrition and slight infection from some of the… whips marks that haven't closed yet but have been exposed to the elements. There was also signs of _other_ damage."

InuYasha made a face as Kagome gasped, putting her hands over her mouth.

"Do you mean… do you mean…" she pointed and the doctor nodded.

InuYasha's fury raged and he clenched his fist. "Why?"

"Humiliation. Koga tells me that you were once yokai… how is it that you're not anymore?"

"A kappa with a jewel shard. He has the ability, somehow, to suck out the yokai power from yokais, reducing them to humans, and also reverting people back to childhood so he can eat them."

"Ah, I've heard of this kappa you're talking about. He calls himself the Kappa King, Jurishi. He's wreaked havoc on these lands for a while now. I'm pretty sure the kappas didn't do any of the other damage, it's not their style. Was it just kappas that worked for him?"

"Uh… no, I remember humans working for him. Guards and stuff…"

"I see… I will need to take Sesshomaru to the village to operate and he will need to recuperate down there as well."

"You're not taking him anywhere." InuYasha growled.

"InuYasha…" Kagome said.

"No. I'm _not_ letting you take him _anywhere_. I can protect him…"

"This isn't about protecting him or not. He's got a broken hip that he can't walk on, an infection, and trauma. I understand your concern but you can't do anything for him at this point. Too much has happened to him for you to protect him physically anymore. I can mend the hip but he'll need you later when his mind is a little clearer to deal with the mental issues at hand. There is much he hasn't told you, I can see it in his eyes. Eventually, he'll say something, but for now, we just need to fix his hip and get him well again."

"He's a good guy, InuYasha." Koga said, crossing his arms. "I would leave my pack to him any day."

InuYasha turned away, crossing his own arms.

"Do whatever you want. Just fix him."

"That's not to say that you can't come with me. You're human now so coming wouldn't raise suspicion. In fact, your little group can stay at my facility."

InuYasha looked at Kagome a little and she smiled.

"I think that would be great. We can stay with the doctor, look after Sesshomaru, and then maybe get some information on that kappa and how to defeat him."

"And get our yokai powers back."

"Then it's settled."

* * *

 **there WERE peops who didn't mind helping yokai, they just got outcasted or hurt because of it. and i think koga has a permanent home but we only see him traveling around for us to get a def. hold. either way, will miroku and sango meet up with kaggers and the gang?**

 **as for the sessh, well people are cruel and payback.**


	7. Chapter 7

"We never did catch your name." Kagome said as she walked behind the doctor towards the village.

The doctor looked over his shoulder past Sesshomaru's white hair and smiled.

"They call me Chiryo-shi; at least that's what the cubs call me. My actual name is Chizinko, Chi if you like."

"I like Zinko, myself." InuYasha mumbled. "Or Ko."

"Whatever you prefer."

"Dr. Ko…" Kagome tried out.

"Chi sounds like a girl's name."

"That's true, it does… We're here."

Kagome and InuYasha looked at the well maintained hut and Ko smiled, turning.

"Welcome to my home/office. We'll be doing the surgery tomorrow at first light. There isn't enough to do it tonight without some complications. Would you mind gathering some herbs for me so that I may numb the pain for tomorrow?" he asked, laying Sesshomaru down on the table.

He then walked over to the doors underneath a bureau of sorts and grabbed a bucket. He held it out them.

"Please do this for me. It will help the pain…"

InuYasha snatched the bucket away and grumbled as he looked inside of it.

"I have to tell you what to look for first. It's not just going to appear…"

"I know that… Kagome, you go look for them. You're the one supposed to be trying to be a miko." He said, shoving the bucket at her.

"What? He's your brother!" she growled.

InuYasha gave her a look and she realized that he was concerned about leaving Sesshomaru by himself with this man that he didn't really know. She sighed and held the bucket by its handle.

"Fine, I'll go look. What is it that I need, Dr. Ko?"

* * *

The doctor grabbed a book from the bookshelf and began to explain what he needed from Kagome as InuYasha went over to his brother. Sesshomaru was sleeping but was in a lot of pain from the straightness of his body and gravity pushing down on his hip, his head lolling back and forth. InuYasha touched his shoulder and his brother woke immediately.

"We're going to fix you up, alright? Just hang in there a little longer. I know you're in a lot of pain."

"How long?" Sesshomaru said softly.

"What do you mean?"

"For the pain to end…"

"He's going to operate tomorrow-"

"No…" He pointed to his chest where his heart would be. "This kind…"

InuYasha looked at him in confusion. He didn't remember anything happening that involved heartache or emotional pain. _Unless it was when he was taken back there that one time…_ he thought to himself. Sesshomaru grabbed his hand and put it on his chest.

"How long?"

InuYasha sighed. "Sometimes forever… and sometimes forever isn't long enough."

Sesshomaru seemed satisfied with that answer and nodded, turning away from him.

InuYasha turned his head a little.

"Sesshomaru… did something happen?" His brother turned back to him. "I know you were gone for a long time back there and for some reason that changed you… what happened back there? What did they do to you?"

Sesshomaru seemed to think for just a second and then turned away.

"Unspeakable things…"

InuYasha wanted to know but decided that his brother wasn't going to divulge that information to him at the moment.

* * *

The doctor looked at the two at the table as he finished telling Kagome what he needed.

"Those two are close?"

"Actually, they aren't. Something happened and it made InuYasha, the guy in red, really protective over Sesshomaru. They're half-brothers."

"I see… Ms. Kagome, the one who is hurt, Sesshomaru?" She nodded. "He's gone through some sort of trauma… not necessarily the physical abuse that he received but there is definitely an indication of some sort of mental trauma. If I understand correctly, he used to be a daiyokai?"

"Yes, he was before the kappa stripped him of his yokai blood."

"I've heard of Sesshomaru before, the Daiyokai of the Western Lands, and I've heard about how ruthless he is. The fact that someone as calm and collected and yet ruthless as he was being reduced to this type of humility would indicate that something broke his not just his hip but his _spirit_. Something happened that even he as a daiyokai couldn't handle and… that's a lot."

"Right…"

"Whether it is you or InuYasha, someone needs to find out what happened so he can begin to heal. I can help physical wounds but mental wounds are hard to fix. Dwelling on them isn't good either, for festering mental wounds are even harder to deal with."

"I understand. I'll go get these herbs and be back shortly."

* * *

Miroku tripped and fell behind Sango and she looked back from hearing him make a noise. He was slowly getting up but swayed a little as he stood. She knelt down in front of him, her back to him.

"Here, let me carry you on my back."

Miroku didn't say anything and obliged her to the offer. She held fast to his tiny legs and he leaned against her.

"You aren't fine." She grumbled. "You kept saying you were but you aren't. You're not well."

"At least we got out…" he said softly against her chest.

She had to admit that if not for his urgency and pushing, they would still be stuck where they had been for months, but going through the water passages (although not ideal) saved them a lot of time. But she had noticed even when he came to get her that he didn't look like he was doing well. He had blamed it casually on getting sick and then with the sleeping draught but Sango believe he truly was sick, and not going to get better soon.

"I wish Kagome was here… She would at least be able to help me out."

"We know Kagome's back from her time since the villagers all said someone of her description came and rescued InuYasha and Sesshomaru, so we should look for her."

"But where would she go?"

Miroku tried to think but his head was pretty addled at the moment. He didn't want to tell Sango that he was sicker than he had let on. He had told her the truth about his exposure to the elements and such had caused his sickness, but he didn't want to alarm her with the details of the issue. They had to get out and that was priority. Now that they were, though, his adrenaline was draining and the inevitable was catching up. But he thought as hard as he could and then his brain decided to shut down for the night. He felt his body drain completely of energy and laid up on Sango as as dead of a weight as he could, his eyes closing.

Sango could almost feel his energy being sapped away and his body got heavy and became dead weight on her back. He didn't answer her and she sighed angrily at his lying.

"When you wake up, you stupid monk, I'm going to hit you so hard over the head that you'll pass out again." She looked around her at the scenery and spotted some mountains. "If I needed to save my once-yokai friends but I had no place to go or trust… then I would find someone I trusted. The only other person Kagome would trust would be Koga… Maybe that's where she went."

Sango adjusted Miroku on her back and headed towards the mountains, hoping her intuition was right.

* * *

 **ah miroku, you're trying to be so brave. just let her know the truth. and it looks like sesshomaru reveals just a tiny bit of what may have happened to him. something of the heart? hmm...**


	8. Chapter 8

During the night as they all slept in Dr. Ko's home, Sesshomaru began to have nightmares regarding his present state. He was unaware of his whimpering and tiny howls that he made in his sleep until he felt someone touch his shoulder softly. His eyes widened immediately and he saw someone staring down at him.

"You're making noises in your sleep…" they said softly.

He realized it was Kagome and turned away. Kagome didn't pay any mind to his embarrassment and gently rubbed his face.

"Were you having bad dreams?" she whispered.

Usually he wouldn't care or would try to make himself look strong but the pain in his body, his heart, and his mind was too much. He needed her just like he needed InuYasha if he were ever going to get back to normal self… even then, he didn't really think he'd ever be normal. He decided honesty was the best thing he could do at the moment and so he nodded.

Kagome smiled sadly at him, continuing to tenderly touch his face.

"What do you dream about? Can you tell me?"

"No…" he said softly. "If I say it then I accept its truth."

She nodded. "I can understand that… InuYasha is very worried about you though. Maybe you could talk to him?"

"I don't want to talk to anyone about it." he said with a gruff tone. "It's hard enough remembering it without permission through my dreams, why would I purposefully bring it to the forefront?"

"I know it may not seem like it, but I guarantee you that telling someone about it will help you."

Sesshomaru debated it and debated it hard within himself, but telling someone about the failure he was and reminding himself that he did fail… he couldn't do it.

"I cannot say."

Kagome decided that she shouldn't press him any further. He had his reasons to keep whatever happened to him a secret and she would respect that. Kagome made a face at InuYasha's snoring though, which seemed to be reverberating through the house. He had been bad when he was a hanyou but the snoring seemed to be worse now.

"Did InuYasha always sound like he was cutting trees down with a chainsaw?" she grumbled to herself.

"He cannot help sleeping with his mouth open."

"Oh, it's not that-"

"He was almost choked to death and so he automatically keeps his mouth open now so that he can breathe." Sesshomaru said softly, looking away.

Kagome blinked, not expecting to hear that from him.

"What do you mean?"

"The kappas put an adjustable chain about his neck once and every time he would say something, they would yank the chain. Some nights they would hook the chain in place and then watch as they dangled Tessaiga in front of him or Shikon Jewel shards… They would try to prompt his anger by also doing things to me… He was not treated kindly."

"Neither of you were."

"InuYasha is quite hard to break… quite hard to peel away and find his weaknesses. The only one I know of is you, but you were not there for them to torment him with. So they had to find other ways to weaken him and 'teach him a lesson'. So, they tormented me to torment him, keeping him tied up by being so close and yet so far. They had broken me past a point I never thought I'd get… I was practically destroyed and am human, making it easy to overpower me and cause more problems. Snoring is the least of the things he was worried about."

Kagome felt a little bad that she was making fun of him when he couldn't really help it. Sesshomaru seemed to want to turn over but he refrained and sighed.

"I am tired of this body." He mumbled.

"I swear to you that I'll try and get you back to normal."

"I highly doubt that. You are just a human… even I, a daiyokai, could not go up against him without getting caught within the magic of them. What makes you think you can?"

Kagome smiled. "Because I have my friends here to help. As soon as I find Sango and Miroku, we can make a plan and defeat these kappas, finding a way to give you and InuYasha your yokai blood again."

Sesshomaru breathed in again and turned his head.

"Your optimism is fueling, but I don't think you can do anything. I am tired…"

Kagome nodded and went back to her bed, hoping to prove Sesshomaru wrong and get their bodies back to normal.

* * *

Sango held Miroku close to her as the wolves slinked around her, sniffing her out. She wished she could get Hiraikotsu from her back but holding Miroku the way she was gave her no room to pull. She kept backing up against the rocks, climbing them with one hand and a blink eye. She could tell the wolves below her were hoping she would either drop Miroku or would latch onto an unstable rock and fall.

"What the hell is going on down here?" she heard a voice snarl from the mouth of the cave above her. "You sound like you're chasing squirrels like some damned house pets!"

Sango looked up and saw Koga looking down at the small pack with crossed arms

"Koga!" she yelled.

He looked over and she waved at him. He gave a little sniff.

"Don't I know you?"

"I'm Kagome's friend."

"Oh yeah… Sango, right?"

"Yes, that's me."

Koga looked around a little. "Where's that monk with the fondling problem?"

"I have him. He's not well… may we come up?"

"Sure."

Sango sighed as Miroku coughed and nuzzled himself on her chest. He was burning with fever but she found it odd he was able to still be a lecherous thing as she moved his tiny hand from her breast. _I'll get him for this…_ she growled in her head. She turned around on the rock face and started making her way up it to the opening of the cave. Koga reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. Seeing Miroku in her arms, he lifted an eyebrow.

"Wow, she wasn't kidding about that kappa…"

"They did something to him. It's not just that he's younger but he's very sick. I think they poisoned him somehow… Is Kagome not here with you?"

"She was here a few hours ago but I sent her with a friend of ours from the nearby village. He helps us and we help him. I would send you to him but you look like you could use some food and rest. That dog turd and his brother were here; they looked like shit too."

Sango looked relieved. "So the rumors were true… and Sesshomaru?"

"What about him?"

"There were rumors that… that he was in pretty bad shape."

"Yeah, his hip was broken and he had a lot of mental issues or something. I wasn't really paying that well of attention in all honesty. You can stay here for the night and I can take you to the doctor in the morning."

"Thank you!" Sango said in relief.

Miroku stirred and sat up a little, looking up at Sango and then down Sango, which she promptly flicked his forehead.

"Just because you're little doesn't give you the right to look." She grumbled.

"That hurt…" he said softly, but looked around at his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Koga's cave. He said that the others came by here not too long ago. We'll be able to meet up with them tomorrow."

Miroku nodded. "Alright… Can you put me down, Sango? I don't feel so well."

Sango did as he had asked and once he was on his hands and knees he vomited on the floor. Koga made a face as Ginta sniffed a little.

"That's some nasty poison." He said, crinkling his nose.

"You can tell he's been poisoned?" Sango asked, kneeling next to him.

"Yeah. It's a plant that grows up in the mountains. We're always telling the cubs to stay away from it. It smells really good but if you eat it it will make you really sick."

"Is there a cure?" Miroku said softly.

Ginta thought for a second. "I think so but it's not anywhere near here. I think Chiryo-shi might know where to find it."

"Is it deadly?" Sango asked.

Ginta shrugged. "I guess it depends on how much they gave you and how pure it was. I'm not an expert but the smell is distinct so that's how I know."

"Yeah, there's a whole field of them on top of the mountain." Hakkaku said. "You should pick some and take it to Chiryo-shi so he can tell you more about them."

Miroku sat back, holding his stomach softly. He wiped his mouth and stood up, although a little wobbly.

"I'd like to sleep, if I could."

"Ginta, make him a spare place." Koga said. He turned to Sango. "I'll go down there and let them know you're here."

"Thank you."

Koga nodded and began to hop down the mountainside.

* * *

InuYasha turned over and felt like someone was staring at him and opened his eyes. He yelled and nearly fell off the bed as Shippo looked at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Why the hell were you so close to me?"

"I was cold."

"Why aren't you sleeping with Kagome? Don't you usually do that?"

"I'm watching over you to make sure you still breathe."

InuYasha made a face. "What do you mean by that?"

"You snore and then you stop breathing sometimes… I overheard Sesshomaru telling Kagome why you snore so bad now but I wanted to make sure you were alright."

InuYasha frowned. "What did Sesshomaru say?"

"He said that they put a chain around your neck and yanked on it."

InuYasha swallowed, remembering the chain. He didn't realize he was subconsciously touching his neck.

"Well I'm fine. I don't need you-"

"Yo, dog turd!"

Both of them yelled, Shippo jumping into InuYasha's arms as they looked over at the window. Koga was waving at them and InuYasha went over to it, punching Koga in the face. Although he was human, he still had more strength than normal ones did.

"What the hell was that for?" Koga growled.

"You come here in the middle of the night and pop up in people's windows? What kind of person are you?"

"Hey, I have to slink around here to not get caught so you should be thanking me for even coming down here. I came to give Kagome a message but I didn't see her in any other rooms."

"What do you want?"

"Those other two people in your party are at the cave. The monk is in an interesting predicament and we think he may have been poisoned. We're going to send them down here tomorrow. The girl wanted me to at least let you guys know they were safe so now you don't have to go through with that cockamamie scheme of Kagome's to go back into that weird kappa's castle."

"I'll let her know."

"How's your brother? Holding up?"

"I'm sure he's looking forward to getting his hip fixed."

"And you?"

"What are you concerned for me now?"

"Look, I saw the way you came in and I saw those other two. You all looked like hell spit you back out, except for the fox runt and Kagome. I know you said you went through hell but until I saw those two, I didn't realize how much."

"Whatever. I'm fine. I'm always fine."

Koga actually looked sympathetically at InuYasha.

"I don't mean to get sentimental or even really care about you, but you're lying. You've got that stupid smug look on your face so that you don't scare Kagome, but I can smell it on you. I can smell the anxiety and the fear that you're trying to keep at bay. You've got some traumas too…"

"What are you gonna do? Talk to me about them and try to help me work them out?" InuYasha snarked. "I've got other people to worry about and other things to do than let a couple of traumatic experiences wear me down. My whole life is made up of tragic experiences. I think a few more won't make an issue."

Koga turned his head a little. "I think these are a little different… but what do I know?"

"That's a good question."

Koga rolled his eyes. "Anyway, just let Kagome know her friends are safe, will ya?"

"Fine."

He left and InuYasha looked at Shippo, who was watching him intently.

"What?"

"Koga's right, you know. You can't fool us."

"Shut up." He growled, hitting Shippo in the head.

"What did I do?!"

* * *

 **so yay, miroku and sango made it to koga's at least. now they can be reunited! and miroku looks like he may have been poisoned. what for though? and if you think about, inuyasha's life has pretty much sucked since he was born. i mean, his dad died the night he was born, he was hanyou, then his mother died when he was young, etc. etc. so yeah, he's had a sucky life. more trauma won't hurt him... or will it? operation on sesshy's hip next chapter! how fun is that?**


	9. Chapter 9

**jsyk, milk of the poppy is a real thing. its where you get opium from but you do stuff to it to get the drug. the milk part will cause unconsciousness if given a higher dose.**

* * *

As the sun rose for the morning to come, Sesshomaru was pretty angry about it. He hadn't been able to go to sleep all night due to nightmares and waking his own self up to make sure he didn't wake anyone else up. He didn't want to talk to anyone about his issues but he didn't want to bother them with the aftereffects of his sad little state. He was not happy to find the sun coming over the horizon when he hadn't got a wink of sleep to prepare for the surgery. Just as he suspected, he doctor was up and about and walked by, seeing him awake.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, you're awake. Did you have a good night's sleep?"

"No." he answered truthfully.

Dr. Ko smiled. "Ah… well, no worries. I have a serum that will make you fall into a deep sleep for the surgery."

Sesshomaru frowned. "This Sesshomaru does not like to be inhibited."

"I understand your concern, especially after the trauma you've been induced to, but you need to be completely numb and unaware of the surgery or things could go wrong."

"I will _not_ let you take away my thinking faculties." He snarled, wishing he was his daiyoukai self again to look more menacing.

Dr. Ko frowned. "This is going to prove difficult then…"

He walked away and Sesshomaru growled after him, although unimpressively. He had been subject to many things and being helpless was one of them. The less helpless he could be, the better things would be for him. He understood that doing this surgery needed him to be unaware, but he would not allow himself to be unable to defend himself… unable to defend anyone else…

But damn! His hip hurt so bad! And he wasn't even yokai enough to take the pain. He was a sitting duck already, stripped of his title, his normal DNA, and most of all his dignity. He was in the hands of creatures he hated and was driven to the lowest of positions by other creatures who he viewed even lower than humans. But… he could do nothing if he didn't get his hip fixed, that much he was sure of.

There had to be a way for him to endure this operation without losing all his senses…

* * *

Dr. Ko walked into his living room to wake up InuYasha from the couch but he didn't see the young man anywhere. He looked around for a second when he heard something on the other side of the window. He walked over to it and looked over it, finding InuYasha vomiting on the ground. Dr. Ko waited for him to finish and InuYasha stood back up, seeing him in the window.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked the doctor.

"Are you alright, son?"

"I'm _fine_. Why aren't you working on Sesshomaru?"

Dr. Ko made a face and made a mental note to bring this up to Kagome.

"He doesn't want to be inhibited for the surgery."

"What do you mean?"

"As I said. He doesn't want to be without his senses during the surgery, but I can't do anything for him unless he is completely knocked out. Is there anything you can suggest to help us get this over with?"

InuYasha narrowed his eyes at him. "Do you _want_ to help us?"

"Of course I do. It's just that there's no way around not putting your brother into an unconscious state and he is refusing to let me."

InuYasha thought for a second. "Kagome might know a way… she's not from around here and so she sometimes has ways to do things."

Dr. Ko sighed. "Alright, I'll ask her… Now, tell me what's going on."

"What are you talking about?"

"The vomiting…"

"I told you it was nothing." InuYasha growled, climbing into the window.

He tried to go past the doctor but he grabbed his arm.

"You aren't immune to trauma, InuYasha."'

"My whole _life_ is a big, humongous trauma. A little more won't hurt me."

"Except it _did_. InuYasha, hanyou, yokai, or human, it doesn't matter what you are, the brain can only take so much psychological harm."

"What do you know?"

"I know that you can't keep this in forever. You or your brother. I know you're used to handling everything on your own, as most of your kind are, but this is bigger than you. You need to talk to someone."

"You act like you know exactly what happened and what's going on in our heads. You're just a human who happens to not be afraid of yokai or hanyous; that doesn't make you an expert on what we are and how we think. You couldn't _possibly_ understand."

"You're right. I don't know anything and I could never understand. I will not say I do. But I've been a doctor for a while. I'm not as dumb as you want me to be… I will ask your friend for assistance but I advise you to talk to someone about your issues. Knowing someone else will be there for you can help you begin again."

"I'll take your fortune cookie of wisdom there, Doc." InuYasha said, walking away.

Dr. Ko sighed and went to find Kagome.

* * *

Sango woke up with a gasp and looked around. She looked down and found Miroku sleeping in her arms, snuggled contently on her chest. She was still going to get him later for using his cuteness to get close to her breasts. Sango eased her arms away from Miroku and got up, looking around for a better view.

"Good, you're awake."

Sango looked behind her to see Koga standing there, his arms crossed.

"Koga…"

"You think you and the monk are ready to descend and meet up with Kagome?"

Sango looked over at Miroku and played with her lip.

"I'm not so sure about Miroku."

"I sent Hakkaku to get some of those flowers he was talking about so that you can take it to the doctor when you get there. You're welcome to wait until he gets back."

"Thank you…"

"You hungry? All we got is raw meat but you're welcome to build a fire and cook some for yourself."

Sango put her hand over her stomach.

"Uh… no… I'm good. Meat doesn't seem too appealing to me anymore."

Koga shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Is there someplace I could maybe wash myself off?"

"There's a stream up the mountain."

Sango nodded and headed up there to clean herself off.

Koga walked over to Miroku and sniffed at him, smelling that something was definitely off about him… and yet familiar… Koga looked at Miroku for a minute and then growled, jumping backwards. Ginta ran over.

"What's wrong?"

"That's not a human."

"What?"

"This thing isn't the monk. I thought something was a little off about this…"

He grabbed Miroku's arm and pulled quickly. The arm came off and Miroku, or what was Miroku, jumped up and glared at Koga.

"How dare you!" it growled.

Koga looked at the arm and then gave a deep bow to the creature. The creature made a face and bowed as well, water falling from its head.

"Hah!"

"Oh! Damn!" it yelled, looking at the dried up puddle. "Please! Please help me put it all back in!"

"Oh I'll help you do something but not until you answer my questions."

"Please, please…"

"No can do. I've got an arm and you lost your water. Times running out, Bowl-Head. Now, what the hell and how?"

"I don't know what you mean?"

"How is it that you looked like the monk?"

"The Kappa King told me to spy on the young woman and was able to modify the water on my head so that it shimmered a decoy onto my body."

"How did he do that? You kappa aren't exactly the smartest…"

The kappa blanched at him in insult.

"I'll have you know that the Kappa King is very cunning. How else do you think he was able to strip the yokai powers from those two annoying yokai in the village?" Koga bonked him on the head. "Hey!"

"Don't get cocky. You're running out of time."

"Ah! Alright, alright… The monk is still with the Kappa King. He wanted collateral in case any of them escaped. He had heard about the girl who came through time… he wants her!"

"Kagome? Why?"

"She is the key to the power of the Shikon Jewel. She can detect jewel shards! If he has her, he's the greatest yokai in all the lands. He controls time as well!"

"This weird regression thing?"

"It is _not_ weird. Until he found the jewel shards, it was but a mere myth that the amulet worked. Once he possessed the jewel shard…" The kappa sighed with admiration. "Oh, how the villages fell…"

Koga grabbed him and shook him.

"How did you get the mannerisms so well of the monk? It was almost like…"

"Looking in a mirror?" the kappa laughed. "I don't know how it all works but all I know is that the Kappa King told me to stand on the other side of a mirror the monk looked into and his image was imprinted on me as well as his personality."

"Anyone else I should know about?"

"Not that I'm aware of… here anyway."

"What the hell does _that_ mean?"

"I'm not the only one who is a mirror image of someone you thought you knew."

Koga's eyes widened and he threw the kappa out of his way.

"Wait, what about my water?!"

"One of you accompany that thing and fulfill the promise. Where is the girl?!"

"Still at the stream."

Koga took off up the mountain.

* * *

Dr. Ko watched as Kagome crushed the herbs and then poured them into a cup of warm tea. She stirred it up a little and smiled.

"That should do it."

"What is that?"

"Some herbs my mother gave me. It induces sleep and this," she said, pulling out a small vial. "Is milk of the poppy. This will make him go unconscious…"

She poured the thick white milk into the tea and stirred it up again. She smiled and handed it to Dr. Ko.

"There. One anesthesia milkshake to go."

"What?"

"Never mind…"

Dr. Ko went and helped Sesshomaru drink the tea. He came back to give Kagome the cup and when he went back in, he found Sesshomaru sound asleep.

"Incredible…"

"I guess I'll leave you to it then."

"Yes, thank you. Please don't disturb me or things could go south very quickly."

She nodded and closed the sliding doors.

When she turned around, she saw InuYasha staring at her and gasped.

"You scared me…"

"Is he doing the surgery?"

"Yes, he's just getting started."

"I see…" He walked past her and sat at the door. "I'll wait for him."

Kagome made a face but knew she couldn't take him away from his brother. She'd be the same way if Sota were in surgery. She decided to try and get a plan to find Miroku and Sango when there was a knock at the door. Kagome went to it and found Koga there.

"Koga-"

"Where's Dog Turd?"

"He's waiting for the doctor to do the surgery on Sesshomaru… What's going on?"

"Come with me." He growled, pulling her outside.

* * *

"Koga! You're hurting me!"

"Sorry. Look, I need to tell you something."

"Okay…"

"Your friend, Sango, she's up in the caves with us."

"Really?! Is she alright?"

"It looks like that kappa got a hold of her but she's fine. It's the monk that's the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"When she came to us, the monk was supposedly turned into a small child but when she left and I spent some alone time with him, I could smell that he wasn't the same. I found out he was a kappa in disguise."

Kagome gasped. "How could that be?"

"Something about the water on their head and a mirror. The point is, someone in your group isn't who they say they are. The kappa said another one was with you."

Kagome thought for a moment. "That can't be right. I met Shippo outside of the village and InuYasha is InuYasha."

"Or is he? It seems like the scent gets distorted around other people, but by itself, it gives off a different scent."

"Could I smell it?"

"No, only someone with my keen senses could. If the other two were up to par, they would be able to as well… I'm just saying be leery. They can impersonate anyone and gain some of their memories too."

"Why do you trust me then?"

"Because you weren't really there long enough for them to pull tricks like that. You told me yourself. Besides, even if they got some of your memories, they wouldn't know half of the stuff you do."

"That's almost flattering… So that means that Miroku is still in there…"

"The kappa said something about collateral. I'll have to tell your friend about this and then I'll send her down to you."

"Thank you, Koga."

He nodded and left as Kagome tried to figure out who could be the infiltrator. The whole thing didn't make much sense because everyone was the same. _Maybe he's mistaken…_ she thought as she went back inside. _He has to be…_

* * *

 **kappa folklore facts: kappas have really flimsy arms and can be pulled off easily. kappas have a 'bowl' of water on their head from the river they are from. they are polite to a fault and so if you are polite to them, you can trick them to pouring out the water on their head. i think they die if you dont' get it back in fast enough but they will grant you whatever you want in order to get you to help them. same with the arm.**

 **they are also known for raping women. obviously, they didn't but it matched up with miroku's lecherous ways already that sango didn't even think twice about the fact that he was actually fondling her.**

 **that being said, miroku is still in the castle and someone in the kagger clan is not who they say they are? who could it be? hmm...**

 **ps: kappas in folklore cannot take on someone's image that is a story add on**


	10. Chapter 10

Sango returned to the caves feeling refreshed and ready to get going. She hoped Miroku was feeling better today but she remembered that Koga had said that he would be taking them to his doctor friend, so maybe he could take a look at the monk. When she entered the cave, she went back to where she had left Miroku and looked around, wondering where he went.

"Miroku? Miroku, where are you?"

"He's not here." Ginta said, talking over slowly. "Koga went to talk to Ms. Kagome about a matter."

"Without me? I thought he was going to take me down there."

"He'll be back soon, ma'am."

Sango put her hands on her hips. "That doesn't explain why there's no sign of Miroku."

Ginta seemed a little nervous. "I think it would be best if Koga told you."

She frowned. "Did you eat him?"

"No! No, of course not…"

"Koga! Koga!" Hakkaku yelled, jumping into the caves. Upon not seeing him, he looked at Ginta. "Where's Koga?"

"In the village. He'll be back momentarily."

"Well I have some news regarding that plant."

"What did you find?"

"Um… well…"

"I'd wait until Koga gets back." Ginta warned from behind Sango, making a face at his friend to shut up.

Hakkaku cleared his throat. "Yes. I don't want to repeat myself."

Just then, Koga jumped in and ran up to the three.

"Oh, good, you're back. Listen, we have a problem-"

"Koga, I need to tell you about those plants."

"Hakkaku!" Ginta yelled.

"What is it?" Koga growled.

"I went to go gather some of the plants but as I got close to the patch, I realized that they weren't the same plant at all. Whatever the smell was was just a ruse. It was crafted really well into masking the scent but once you smell the original then you can tell instantly that the other is fake."

"Then why did you bring it up in the first place if you could tell it was a fake?" Sango snarled.

"No, I mean, they have to be smelled within a good amount of time to tell the difference. I haven't gone to the original plant patch in a long time, so my nose didn't pick up the difference at first."

"So what does this have to do with Miroku being gone?"

"That wasn't the monk." Koga said.

"What?"

"It was a kappa disguised as the monk."

Sango blinked a little. "How is that even possible?"

"He said that the Kappa King was able to do it by projecting the monk's image and personality onto him through some sort of mirror. Everything was able and amplified by the use of the jewel shards."

Sango thought for a moment and then her brown eyes widened.

"Wait… are you saying that Miroku is still with the Kappa King?!"

"That's what the kappa said before he left. Something about collateral."

She put her hands over her mouth and tried not to cry. She felt like a complete failure. She should have been able to see through the kappa and realize that it wasn't Miroku at all. How could she have missed it? She then remembered all the lecherous actions and made a face. _Oh yeah… kappas are pretty lecherous as well… I would have never been the wiser._

"So then… what now?"

"I'll still take you to Kagome but I let her know that one of the people in her party is not who they seem either."

"What do you mean?"

"The kappa said that there was another spy in their group."

Sango narrowed her eyes. "Take me to them."

* * *

Kagome didn't know what to do. The information Koga had just given her was pretty paramount. One of the people in her party was not real. It really couldn't have been Sesshomaru because even a kappa couldn't fake a broken hip like that. The only other people would be Shippo or InuYasha. InuYasha was acting a little weird but pretty normal. He is a hanyou and being captured and tortured like that bruised his pride tremendously, so him acting a little different was justifiable. Shippo was every bit the same as he was before. _But if what that kappa told Koga was true then it has to be one of them. I mean… if Dr. Ko tried to operate on a kappa that was posing as Sesshomaru, then one: the kappa wouldn't even let it happen and two: the disguise would probably have faded away. But Sesshomaru's pain and screams are much too real for him to be a kappa._ The information was confusing and also a little disturbing. Someone in her party wasn't real and it was between InuYasha and Shippo. She had to find a way to get one of them to expose themselves…

"Kagome?" She looked down at Shippo on the floor. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, perfect. I'm just worried about Sesshomaru." She semi-lied.

Kagome thought about when she got back and went to the castle and the steps in between then and there. Everything seemed normal…

"Shippo?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that InuYasha left you in the tree to keep you safe and wait for me, right?"

"Yeah."

"How did you know where they went if you had been in the tree the whole time?"

"I wasn't… He put me in the tree but when they all left I followed them to where they had taken them. Then I went back to the tree to wait for you."

It was something Shippo would do… She then remembered finding Sesshomaru and InuYasha.

"How did you know where to find Sesshomaru and InuYasha?"

"I went searching just like you… What are you trying to say, Kagome?"

She worried her lip. She didn't want to just come out and tell him that she didn't think he was real but InuYasha just couldn't be the fake one… right? Things weren't adding up and it was just making her more and more suspicious and confused. There was a knock on the door and she went to it, opening it up.

"Kagome!"

"Sango?" she said, hugging the girl who now looked about her age or even younger. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you too! Did Koga come and tell you the news?"

"About the kappas? Yeah… I'm…" She got close to Sango's ear. "Having a hard time telling which one is which."

"You've already narrowed it down? You're smarter than I was…"

They walked back into the living room and Kagome pointed to the other side of the door.

"InuYasha is waiting for Sesshomaru's surgery against the door there."

Sango leaned over and saw InuYasha sitting cross-legged at the door. She frowned.

"He looks like hell."

"Well, he and Sesshomaru had their yokai powers stripped from them."

"I know that. I saw it happen. I mean just in general from the way we usually see him…"

"So how long ago did you get captured?"

Sango blinked a little "What do you mean?"

"I'm… getting two different answers. One is extreme and the other seems plausible."

"Okay…"

"InuYasha says I've been gone for three months while Shippo verifies that it was only three days."

Sango's eyes widened. "It's been three _months_ , for sure. Do you really think that the torture endured by the both of them happened in three days? They just got to me the other day; I looked like my normal self until then."

"But how is it months?"

"Maybe something weird happened with the well? I'm not sure but I can verify that it's been three months."

Kagome looked around but didn't see Shippo. She stood up, looking around.

"Shippo? Shippo, where are you?"

"He's not here." InuYasha said softly.

Kagome and Sango went to where InuYasha was and he had his head hanging down, his hair limply laying there.

"InuYasha, are you alright?" she asked, kneeling in front of him.

She raised his head and found him crying, his eyes red and swollen from trying not to make a sound.

"InuYasha…"

"Shippo's not here. He's _gone_."

"Well he was here a minute ago. I mean-"

"No… no I mean he's gone."

Kagome thought for a moment and then her eyes widened.

"Then Shippo…"

"The one traveling with us was never real. I knew it but… I wanted to believe for just a moment that it was really him. The quirks, the annoyance, the gung-ho attitude… I just… for a few more minutes I wanted to believe that he was here."

Kagome touched InuYasha's face and then made him get up for her. He seemed to crumble in her arms as he wrapped his arms around her, shaking.

"I didn't want to do it! I really didn't! I didn't want to but they made me and I… I'm so sorry! I'm sorry Kagome!"

"It's alright, InuYasha… I think… Why are you apologizing?"

"They made him do a pretty horrible thing."

Sango and Kagome turned around, gasping at the kappa that was standing there.

"You." Sango snarled.

The kappa held up his arms in defense as Sango grabbed him and held him.

"What do you want me to do with him, Kagome?"

"Tie him up. I have to help InuYasha. I'll deal with that thing later."

She led InuYasha to his room and sat him down on the bed.

* * *

InuYasha was practically drained and lifeless. He didn't want to keep living at that moment. Once Kagome found out what he had done… she would leave him and then they would be stuck in these forms forever… Kagome moved his hair from his face slowly and then touched his face, making him look at her. She was so pure and he was so… horrid…

"InuYasha, tell me what's going on. You _knew_ the Shippo that was with us wasn't real and you didn't say anything."

"If I tell you, you'll hate me forever." He practically whispered.

"Just answer my questions as best you can."

InuYasha pulled his face from her hand.

"Shippo is gone but I wanted to believe that he was still here. I hated that kid but… in the end, I missed him. When that kappa was there, portraying him so well, I allowed myself to get caught in the illusion so I wouldn't have to remember what happened to him. It kept me sane up until now. The past is catching up with me… even that stupid doctor could tell I wasn't alright…"

"So then what _did_ happen to Shippo?" Kagome asked.

InuYasha hesitated and then gulped, looking at her briefly and trying to avoid eye contact.

"They made me _eat him_."

* * *

 **uh oh. what's this revelation?**


	11. Chapter 11

**just as there are malevolent/benevolent mythological creatures in general, there are those in the same species that are of either spectrum. kappas are no different, although most see them as the mischievous type.**

 **ps: i fell asleep at the computer and my cat hit some keys so i think i got everything but if there is an odd sentence/random letter/word, please let me know so i can fix it ^^;**

* * *

The revelation shook Kagome to her core as she stared at InuYasha, who was looking at her with such haunted eyes.

"W-what?" she asked in disbelief.

"They made me eat him…"

"And you didn't try to _not_?" she asked, no malice in her voice.

InuYasha's haunted expression suddenly changed into anger and he glared daggers at her.

"Do you really fucking think that if I had a choice in the matter I would have done it?! Huh?! I didn't _want_ to do it! I wasn't very fond of the kid but I would never in my entire life _eat him_!" InuYasha suddenly began to hyperventilate, running his hands through is hair. "Do you really… do you _really_ think that I wanted to kill him and eat him?!"

Kagome realized what she had said and grabbed InuYasha's hands, pulling them from his hair before he tore chunks of it out.

"InuYasha! InuYasha, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to say it like that… Hey!" She made him look at her. "I'm not blaming you nor am I accusing you… I promise. I'm just… I'm in shock. I mean…"

"Please don't make me explain it. Please, Kagome, please…" he whimpered, leaning his head into her. " _Please_ …"

"I wish I didn't have to but I need to understand. I mean… how do you know it was him?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" he screamed, shoving Kagome away. "I don't want to talk about it!"

"Okay, okay… I won't make you. I promise… I'm sorry." Kagome went to him and pulled him 1into her arms. "I won't make you talk about it."

InuYasha sobbed into her stomach where he was sitting and she was standing. She rubbed his head softly, trying to get him to calm down. He had been living with this guilt, this horror, for three months. It had to be taking a toll on him.

"InuYasha, you need to rest."

"I can't."

"You have to try. You're not yourself and you'll just hurt yourself. I'll make you some hot tea, okay?"

He nodded and she helped him get into bed. He curled up and turned away from her and she walked away. When she closed the door, she threw her hand over her mouth in horror, trying not to vomit. She couldn't believe what had happened. What could make it even possible for him to be able to just _eat_ Shippo? She had to know…

* * *

Sango had the kappa tied up and when Kagome came back out, she pointed to him.

"He says he's got something to say."

"Damn right he's got something to say." Kagome growled. "Tell me everything you know about what's going on."

"May I first say that despite what you all believe, I did not want to deceive you all with that form."

"Cut the crap, kappa." Sango growled.

"Sango, please…" Kagome said softly.

Sango made a face at her and pointed to the creature.

"He and his companion just played us with their disguises, making us believe that Shippo and Miroku were with us and-"

"Shippo's dead." Kagome said forlornly.

Sango blinked for a second and turned her head in confusion.

" _What_?"

"Shippo's dead… InuYasha just told me."

Sango rounded on the kappa as he moved away from her a little to keep from getting hit.

"How could you? How could you do that to a little kit!?"

"Please let me explain. It wasn't my doing and I swear upon Suijin that it wasn't my will or choice to be illusioned as the young fox kit."

"Then you'd better make your explanation really good because even if Kagome doesn't want to do anything to kill you, it won't stop _me_." Sango hissed, cracking her knuckles.

The kappa gulped and Kagome just pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Just tell us what happened and how you ended up with this… role or whatever."

"Certainly. First, my name is Nyth, and I'm a very low underling of the Kappa King. With his rise in power and the realization that he can use the water in our heads to give us the illusion of other people, he has been using us lower kappas to do his dirty work. Usually he has one of us infiltrate a town and warn them about the Kappa King. Since most people," he said, throwing a hard glance at Sango. "believe that kappas are incapable of doing anything else but mess with people in the rivers, the villages often to not believe us. Then the Kappa King comes, kidnaps the citizens and the process continues.

"When he was able to procure your yokai friends, he was over the moon with the power of his newfound abilities. When he realized who you were through threats given by almost all people within your traveling party, the Kappa King wanted to capture you, Ms. Kagome, the most. So he separated the group and threw the former yokais into the dungeon. There, they were subject to many, many tortures… one of them being the poor fox kit."

"You're not really telling us any information." Sango mumbled.

"I have found that just coming right out and saying things does not exactly bode well with your species." Nyth said matter-of-factly.

Sango had to admit that he was right about that one. Nyth turned back to Kagome.

"InuYasha was stronger in will than the Kappa King took him for. By then he had already broken the former daiyokai, but InuYasha was so sure that you would come for him and your friends. The Kappa King wanted to shut him up once and for all... so… he…"

Nyth seemed almost as upset as Kagome and InuYasha were and Kagome touched his tied up arm.

"Take your time. I just want answers that I know InuYasha can't give me right now."

Nyth nodded, the water in his head sloshing a little, and breathed in.

"First he starved InuYasha for a few weeks and kept the neck chain on him at all times, pulling on it spontaneously so that he was usually off guard and weak. Once the Kappa King thought he was weak enough, he brought Shippo in. Before this, the Kappa King had already imprinted the fox kit's image, characteristics, and memories into me. I was now watching what would unfold… They… they did so many things to the poor child and made InuYasha watch. Everything time he tried to go to him, they would yank the chain harder and harder into the wall, until sometimes his eyes would roll in his head, but he would still try and save Shippo. For three days they made him watch and for three days that poor little kit suffered.

"Then, one day, I was told to deliver food to InuYasha. It was on a fancy silver platter. I looked under the covering and found hot soup with meat in it. I thought of how nice it was to try and get InuYasha's strength back. He was so weak by then that I had to feed him myself as he laid against the wall. He kept asking me where Shippo was, but even I didn't know. For another three days, he ate well and hearty. Then on the fourth day, the dish was different this time: it was a small piece of meat with a slice of bread. I fed it to InuYasha but before I left, one of the high underlings of the Kappa King came down and smiled at InuYasha.

"'How have your meals been?' he asked. InuYasha didn't really answer him and he only smiled. 'Have they been alright? Help you get your strength back?' he mocked. 'What do you want?' InuYasha asked. 'I want you to tell me that that was an amazing soup. I'm sure having some of that meat gave you some strength.' 'Where's Shippo?' InuYasha asked. The high underling only smiled in a strange way. InuYasha could tell something was going on. 'You won't tell me how good the soup was.' After a brief second I realized what he meant but kept my mouth shut. Due to the head beatings, InuYasha didn't realize it until a few moments later what had transpired; when he did, though, he lost all color and began to vomit. They released him from the neck chain and he crumbled to the floor. I left as soon as I could, wanting to gag myself. As kappas, it is true that some of us eat children, but we have never forced those of another species to do it. I was then directed to wait for you and here we all are."

Kagome actually did heave and then ran to the window to vomit into the grass.

Sango turned to him.

"Are you saying that InuYasha _ate_ Shippo?"

"Precisely."

Sango's eyes filled with tears and she ran her fingers through her hair, her other hand on her hip. She leaned against the wall, trying not to break down. Kagome came back, although pale, and sat in a chair to calm her nerves.

"Poor InuYasha… he's been having to deal with this horrific memory all this time and here I was just…"

"Ms. Kagome, there was no way you could have known about it." Nyth said. "I realize the words of a kappa are nothing in this situation but I truly am sorry for the loss your party has received."

"How can you be sorry for us when your king is going around turning people into children so that he and his underlings can be fed?" Sango growled, tears silently falling from her eyes. "You act like you can empathize with us but you're just as bad and you know it."

"Actually, my village is quite peaceful and most of the villagers leave me cucumbers and vegetables as a peace offering so that I do not take their children or do anything of the sort. I am a benevolent kappa; I accept these offerings with gratitude and leave the villagers alone… well… I have been known to look up a few kimonos now and again, but I can assure you that is the extent of my mischief."

"If you're so benevolent, then what made you team up with the Kappa King?" Kagome asked softly.

"Most of us had no choice. We are not a wandering type and so for the ones who _do_ eat children, the Kappa King's ability made leaving their rivers a sacrifice they were willing to take for getting stuffed every day with children. For those who didn't, without the villagers bringing us vegetables to eat, we would be forced to turn into hunters of flesh. The Kappa King said that we were entitled to eat people or not but if we followed him, he would provide all the vegetables we wanted and not go hungry. It was a matter of survival, Ms. Kagome."

Kagome sighed and stood back up. "I promised InuYasha I would make him some hot tea. Sango, untie Nyth."

" _What_? Are you serious?"

"He seems like he isn't here to hurt us and told exactly what we wanted to hear without much provocation. I think he'll be fine. If you don't trust him them bargain with him."

Sango made a face but she could tell Kagome was not really thinking straight. If Sango hadn't been born in the yokai-hunter's camp and had heard all about the many yokai about, she would probably be just as sick as her friend. She was sick over losing her poor little companion, but she knew she had to be strong.

"If you would like to take one of my arms as a bargaining tool, I'll gladly give it to you." Nyth said.

Sango looked at him. "I don't trust you."

"I know, but being disguised as your fox kit, I have come to see how you all care very much for each other, especially Shippo. He was a vivacious little thing and believed up until the very end. If I had known what they would have done to him, I would have never done the illusion."

"You said you didn't have a choice?"

"I didn't. But if I had known what was going to happen after being forced to do it, I would have asked to be someone else. I just wanted to be fed and safe; I didn't want all this carnage. There are a lot of benevolent kappa that feel the same way."

The door opened and Dr. Ko came out, wiping his hands on a hand towel. He looked at the kappa and then at Sango.

"I don't remember you having a kappa in your party."

"We _don't_ have one. He was disguising himself as Shippo."

Dr. Ko nodded. "Where is Kagome?"

"I think she's making hot tea for InuYasha. How is Sesshomaru?"

"The operation was a success. He will need to stay here for recovery but I believe he will get better quickly enough."

"Thank goodness…"

"I'll go and let Kagome know."

He left to go and find her.

* * *

Kagome stirred the tea slowly, trying not to focus too much on the issue at hand. InuYasha was carrying such a heavy burden and she knew that now that she knew about it, he would feel ashamed to even be around her. She had to figure out a way to make it possible for him to feel alright when she was around.

"Ms. Kagome?"

Kagome jumped, almost spilling the tea. She turned to Dr. Ko and he smiled at her.

"Your friend you were making tea… Are you alright?"

"N-no… not really. I just found out some unnerving news… Um… was the surgery a success?" she asked, putting on a fake smile.

Dr. Ko tried to ignore her forceful smile. "Yes, Sesshomaru is doing quite well now. The hip was in very bad shape and he won't be able to get back to normal with it unless he regains his yokai powers. Even then, I believe he will still have a slight limp."

"I think that will be the least of his worries… Dr. Ko, are there any herbal remedies for memory loss?"

Dr. Ko turned his head. "That depends… forgetting or remembering?"

"Forgetting."

Dr. Ko smiled kindly at her. "There _are_ herbs that when mixed together have that sort of power but sometimes they cause more harm than good. Although there may be things that we want to forget, remembering them will make us stronger individuals. We cannot erase every bad memory that comes to us or we will never be able to overcome the hardships we encounter."

"That's true but… what if it's something that's so bad that nothing we can do can make us overcome it? It's something so bad that… that…"

Dr. Ko put his hand on Kagome's shoulder and she tried to keep her tears at bay.

"It seems you've had a hard time, Ms. Kagome. Please rest up a little. You're safe here and Sesshomaru is in recovery. I think it would be best to help your friend when you are calm as well."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know what's wrong with InuYasha but I can tell he's hiding something. It's affecting him in a way even he wouldn't understand, but I think that you could help him get through it… He trusts you to a higher degree. He needs you."

Kagome thought for a second and then nodded, wiping the tears in her eyes furiously.

"You're right. He needs me. I have to be there for him so that I can help him."

She grabbed the tea and headed to InuYasha's room.

* * *

 **and so there you have it, the hows and whys of what happened to inuyasha. it's pretty traumatic even for him. will kagome be able to push the blunder aside, knowing that he would never do it on purpose? even though he didn't though, it's still a sick twisted thing and people have an automatic reaction to that sort of sin. inuyasha knows this and so does kagome. how will they get through it?**

 **and is nyth lying or telling the truth? is he JUST a low underling?**


	12. Chapter 12

Even though Kagome had had high spirits about just bursting into InuYasha's room with good cheer, bucking him up, and then making him feel better, once she actually got to the door, she stopped. Her hands shook as she held the tea on the tray, suddenly unable to figure out what she could say to him. How do you comfort someone who just told you that they inadvertently _ate_ your companion? What do you tell them to make them feel better? What _could_ you tell them? _Was_ there any way to make someone in that situation feel like they weren't a monster?

Kagome shook her head and breathed in. She knew that there really wasn't an easy way to do it, but she had to figure out a way somehow. InuYasha needed an outlet and needed someone who wasn't going to judge him for something he would have never done on his own. Kagome adjusted the tray in her hand knocked on the door. There was no answer but she thought she heard something that sounded like a yelp from the inside. She made a face and opened the door. She screamed, dropping the tray.

"INUYASHA!"

Panic took over and all she could do was fall to her knees, sobbing.

Sango came running to the room when she saw Kagome on the floor and looked in. She gasped and grabbed Hiraikotsu, throwing it. It snapped the rope and InuYasha fell to the floor in a heap. Dr. Ko ran in with the Nyth behind him as Sango looked up from the floor.

"He's breathing but…"

Dr. Ko picked InuYasha up and laid him in the bed. He felt for a pulse in his wrist and then laid his hand back over his chest.

"His pulse is weak but that might not necessarily be because of what happened. Is there something going on that I don't know about? Is there a reason why he would do this?"

Sango really didn't want to reveal what happened but if InuYasha was willing to do this, then she hoped Dr. Ko could maybe help.

"He… something happened that he was involved in. Something that he had no control over, but it was a horrible thing."

Dr. Ko sighed and moved InuYasha's head to look at the rope burn on his neck.

"I'll need to treat this with some salve." He looked back at Kagome, who was shaking on the floor. "If you wouldn't mind getting Kagome up…"

Sango nodded and went over to Kagome, kneeling in front of her.

"Come on, Kagome-"

"No… no, I can't leave. If I leave he'll do it again… he… oh God, Sango!" she sobbed, putting her face in her hands. "He's been carrying this burden for so long that he… he would resort to _that_! I can't let him out of my sight or he may actually go through with it."

"Kagome, if he is so distraught that he would do this, what makes you think he won't try it some other way?"

"Because I'll be by his side… I'll be there."

"Kagome, right now we really need to keep you calm. I'll be giving you both a sedative. Maybe in the meantime, someone could clue me in on the exact details?" Dr. Ko said.

Kagome nodded. "Sango and Nyth can tell you… just… just please don't keep me away from him."

He nodded and they helped Kagome into the bed with InuYasha. She laid beside him and immediately fell asleep.

Dr. Ko walked out with Sango and Nyth behind him and turned to the two.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Apparently InuYasha actually… ate our fox companion. The kappas fed him to him without his knowledge until it was too late. He'd been carrying that burden all this time and… and it must have gotten too much for him."

"Ah, so that's why Kagome was asking about the herbs… I am truly sorry for what has happened. I know I cannot do anything about it but still…"

"Yeah…"

Dr. Ko ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll see if I can do anything for them."

* * *

Sesshomaru opened his eyes slowly, feeling a pain deep in his hip. He jerked a little, making the pain shoot up his leg. He yelped, hissing in pain, when he felt someone touch his forehead.

"Well, you're lively."

Sesshomaru couldn't really make out who the voice belonged to as his vision blurred again.

"How are you feeling?"

"Weak." He said softly.

The person laughed. "I should think so. You've had a hard ordeal since you were rescued."

"What happened?"

"Well, your hip's been broken for a while now, practically shattered. I was finally able to go in there and set it aright. It will take a while for you to get back on your feet and you may not fully heal until you get your yokai powers back."

"You… know what I am?"

"Kagome and your brother are here with you as well… InuYasha seems to have been having a hard time."

Sesshomaru grunted from the pain. "Yes, he has."

"Are you aware of some of the things that's happened to him? What happened in the cell?"

Sesshomaru didn't say anything for a moment and then looked away.

"We've both seen things. We've both done things we cannot ever take back."

"I see. Well, you'll need to rest up for a while before I can move you to a more comfortable place. The hip needs to settle a little."

"This Sesshomaru seems to not have a choice…" he said softly, drifting back into sleep.

Dr. Ko smiled at him, happy that at least one person was on the mend and not going to slide back as soon as he turned away. He looked for some of the herbs he needed to make the sedative and the pain killer with but frowned, realizing he was out. He made a face, drumming his fingers on the counter as he thought about what he was going to do when Sango walked in.

"Sango, my dear, would you mind staying here while I went to look for some more herbs that I need for the rest of your party?"

"Sure, I don't mind. I'm sure Kagome would rather focus on InuYasha right now… Hey um… do you think he'll be alright? Ya know…" she said, pointing to her head.

Dr. Ko nodded. "A revelation such as the one that you told me would probably drive anyone with a hint of a heart to do what he did, or worse. He had been suppressing it for a while and in all honesty, as much as it was a type of cruel joke Nyth played on you all, the fact that for a short while your fox kit was with you, it staved InuYasha's harbored guilt. When it was finally revealed that a kappa was in his place and Shippo was _truly_ gone, he could no longer hold it in. As for mentally being able to go on, yes… with all of you here to support him, he will."

Sango nodded and Dr. Ko grabbed a bucket, leaving the house.

* * *

InuYasha opened his eyes and looked around a little. He felt someone beside him and turned a little, seeing Kagome laying next to him. He looked at the broken rope that was still hanging from the ceiling. He frowned a little. _I failed? How could that have happened? I planned it out so well…_ He laid there trying to understand what went wrong when he felt Kagome stir beside him. InuYasha narrowed his eyes a little and realized that somehow, some way, Kagome had stopped him. He was a little angry that she had done it, not letting him do what he wanted in regards to the punishment he deserved. He decided to try something else later.

* * *

 _"InuYasha, I'm scared."_

 _"Don't worry, Shippo, everything will be alright."_

 _"But you don't have your yokai powers anymore and… and the Kappa King eats kids. What if they eat **me**?"_

 _"Don't worry about it. I won't let anything happen to you, okay? I promise."_

* * *

"InuYasha. InuYasha, wake up."

InuYasha woke up, violently shaking and Kagome looking over him. He turned and vomited on the floor. Kagome rubbed his back softly as he finished ejecting his stomach contents onto the floor. He finally finished, shaking, and pulled himself back onto the bed on his knees with Kagome touching his shoulder softly. He jerked his shoulder away from her and looked away.

"Don't look at me."

"InuYasha-"

"I know what you're thinking."

"Do you?"

"You think I'm a monster."

"No; right now I think you're the stupidest person to ever be in my line of sight. If I didn't already know you were hurting, I would beat you to a pulp. If you were still a hanyou I'd yell 'sit' so many times you'd end up coming out of the ground on the other side of the world!"

Confused, InuYasha peaked at Kagome through his hair and found her silently crying but looking at him angrily.

"Why are you angry with me?" he asked softly.

Kagome set her jaw. "You have the _gall_ to ask me that when you tried to hang yourself earlier today?!"

He turned away from her again. "It's the least I could do…"

"The least you could do for _what_?!"

"Shippo."

Kagome sighed and made InuYasha look at her, although his gaze never met hers.

"InuYasha. InuYasha, look at me." He slowly slid his brown eyes to her and she put her hands on his face. "Listen to me: I don't judge you. I am not judging you about what happened to Shippo. You are not a monster. You are not a killer. What happened to you was something cruel, unethical, evil, and disgusting but it's because of _them_ that it happened. I know you would _never_ do that in your entire existence. You have to understand that I don't judge you and that I don't look at you any different than before."

"You're lying…"

Kagome pulled InuYasha to him, hugging him tightly as he laid his head on her shoulder.

"I know you don't show your emotions very easily, trying to hide them, but this matter is different. The things that's been done to you and the things they have made you do are so cruel and evil. I know you don't want to talk about it with me for fear of how I will think of you, but I won't think of you as anything less than what you are."

"What is that?" he asked softly.

Kagome touched his back as she deepened their hug.

"InuYasha; nothing more."

He didn't do anything, which Kagome expected, and she pulled away from him. She made him look at her again but there were tears falling down his face silently. She moved his hair for him to look at her and he finally sobbed, his hands coming over his face.

"Don't look at me… Please… Please don't look at me as if I'm not a murderer. Please… please…"

Kagome pulled him to her as he continued to sob in her arms.

* * *

 **poor inuyasha. he just can't get past the fact of what happened. then again, who could? and who could blame him for his actions? he believes he's a monster now, something evil. kagome is trying to be supportive and understanding but it's hard to do that**


	13. Chapter 13

_InuYasha hurled in the corner of the cell, trying to purge everything from himself. He had to get it out. He had to get everything out. Sesshomaru was in no better shape and just watched in silence as his brother shattered before him. He never knew the fox kit and InuYasha never seemed to be exceptionally fond of him, but he was part of their team and he had promised he wouldn't let anything happen to him. And now… he learned of what had been done and he had taken part in it? Even Sesshomaru wanted to vomit but he had had his horror done to him. He was still facing that. In fact, thinking about it again only added to the nausea and he vomited too._

 _"Hey…" he heard from across the cell._

 _Sesshomaru looked over as InuYasha looked at him from the floor._

 _"Don't you start again… Please… just… We both can't be weak. We're yokai, dammit. We're… we're yokai." He said, trying to keep himself from sobbing. "We will get out of here and we'll free everyone. I know it's not your forte but I think after everything we've gone through, you can help us out in the end, eh?"_

 _"This Sesshomaru would take great pleasure in seeing this place burnt to the ground and the Kappa King's head snapped off by my poisoned whip." He seethed._

 _InuYasha smiled. "That's more like it."_

 _"InuYasha?"_

 _InuYasha's eyes widened as he looked out of the door. Sesshomaru frowned._

 _"Sh-Shippo?"_

 _"Oh, good, I found you."_

 _"They told me you were dead! They said that I…"_

 _"I'm fine, don't worry. I'll go and try to get Kagome to come and rescue us all. Don't worry. I'll save you."_

 _InuYasha smiled. "Yeah, you do that."_

 _InuYasha sank to the floor in relief but Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at him._

 _"Have you gone blind? That was a kappa. They did the same to me when…"_

 _"I know… I know but… I don't care. I don't want to think about it. Shippo's okay… he's alright."_

 _Sesshomaru frowned. **This will not end well for you, little brother, if you fool yourself into believing what's done was fake. Your fox kit is gone; even I know that.**_

* * *

Sesshomaru woke up again and grunted, catching the doctor's attention.

"I'm glad to see you up, Sesshomaru. Are you hungry?" Sesshomaru nodded. "Excellent. I'm making stew. When it's done I will dip some for you and you can have a feast."

"InuYasha…"

"Hmm?"

"InuYasha… how is he?"

The doctor's face fell. "A revelation has caused a very unwanted resolution."

Sesshomaru nodded. "The kappa's ruse fell."

"So you knew?"

"InuYasha knew too."

"Curious… He seemed to act otherwise."

Sesshomaru wanted to act cocky but the pain in his hip made him spasm and he instead hissed in pain. After gathering himself, he looked back at the doctor.

"He was ashamed of what had been done and fooled himself into believing it was a lie. He wanted to have a few more moments of mental peace but it all came crashing down… I told him it was stupid to do that."

"And your statement is true… That means though, that there is still one more member of their party back at the Kappa King's fortress. They are wanting to go and retrieve him but with two of their strongest fighters down for the count, I don't know how successful they will be."

"This is true."

"But, knowing that you're on the mend may help things and now that the cloud hovering over everyone's heads has lifted from the secret InuYasha was carrying, maybe things will get better."

Sesshomaru really didn't think that, considering he had his own demons he was battling himself that only InuYasha knew. It was only a matter of time before he too broke and all of his secrets were revealed. He found his problems a lot worse than InuYasha's by far.

* * *

A person cleared their throat behind Sango and she turned, finding Nyth standing behind her. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What do _you_ want?"

"I wanted to run a suggestion by you in regards to finding your other companion."

"How can we trust you?"

"As I said before, I am a lowly underling of the Kappa King."

"How can we believe that? You've got to give us more proof of your loyalty than just hearsay."

Nyth grabbed his arm and ripped it off, handing it to Sango.

"You have my arm; you have my promise of explicit truth."

Sango made a face but took the arm, knowing that that (besides taking the water from his head) was practically the only two ways of guaranteed truth.

"Alright then, I'm listening."

"There are a lot of other benevolent kappa such as myself that were forced to be under the Kappa King for survival. We don't approve of his dealings and we definitely don't approve of his rule. If I could maybe convince the rest of the benevolent kappa to aid us in a fight against the Kappa King, then I think we might be able to find your friend."

"Why do we have to go to war to find Miroku?"

"Is that the monk's name? Miroku?"

"Yeah… don't tell me that son of a bitch ate Miroku?"

"No, but he is using him as leverage. I know that for a fact. Me and that other kappa were dispatched around the same time to get our glamours put on. The monk is no use to you all dead and so the Kappa King is keeping him alive."

Sango crossed her arms. "How do you know that?"

"Because I saw him… uh…" He motioned for Sango to get closer to him.

Sango leaned in as Nyth whispered in her ear. Sango's eyes narrowed angrily as he pulled away from her.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"That Kappa King is a sick, twisted bastard."

"He is not alone in the venture. He has a lot of the village leaders or anyone who was thought of as someone prominent or revered is being made to do this. He is keeping them hostage to make the villages comply."

Sango balled up her fist and wanted to punch Nyth, but he was giving her valuable information.

"So what would we need to do to distract the Kappa King enough to get inside?"

"That's where the other benevolent kappa come into play… would you like to hear more?"

"I think I might like your plan."

Nyth nodded and explained what he thought might work for them getting back into the fortress.

* * *

For the first time in weeks, InuYasha's dreams were nonexistent, which meant he had a better night sleep than he had had in a while. He opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself laying on something soft. He swallowed a little but his throat was sore and he winced from pain. He moved and saw Kagome was under him, her hand on his back where she was probably comforting him from the fiasco the night before. He laid his head back down over her heart and listened to it for a moment. It was calm and soothing, making his eyes droop again as it lulled him back to a pleasant sleep.

* * *

 _"InuYasha! INUYASHA, SAVE ME!"_

 _"LORD SESSHOMARU!"_

* * *

InuYasha jolted up and breathed heavily, making his sore throat even dryer. The haunted screams were coming together. He swallowed hard and realized that soon, Sesshomaru was going to crack as well. They didn't see the degradation of Sesshomaru like he did… they didn't see a proud and haughty daiyokai lose his shit, break, then shatter, and practically only existed for two months to only share the air within the cells. He had been on autopilot with no life, like a living doll. Even though it was cruel and hard, just believing for a few weeks that Shippo really wasn't dead allowed InuYasha to stay focused and determined to escape. For Sesshomaru…

"InuYasha?"

He turned to look at Kagome as she opened her eyes and saw him sitting up. She touched his hand softly.

"Are you alright?"

"Had a bad dream." He laid down beside her. "Nothing new…"

Kagome smiled and touched his face softly, rubbing it with the tip of her finger.

"What about everything else? Are… will you be okay?"

"I'll never be okay but… I think I can live with myself without feeling completely guilty. I will never forget and I can never forgive myself fully but… I think I can focus on the task at hand now."

Kagome smiled. "That's good… You scared me."

"I'm sorry."

* * *

"Next!"

"This female used to be around fifty years of age. She has two young daughters who were betrothed to be wed to two families with prominent sons. They were going to be married soon. You have eaten one of the daughters in front of their betrothed and this mother. It says you… tore her limb from limb and then dipped her dismembered parts into soy sauce, rolled them in rice, and ate them in front of the two. Then you ordered the one she was betrothed to to be skinned and made into a stew. You made the family watch and this woman watched as you ate her potential son-in-law."

"I see… So then what's the next option for meals?"

"I have tempura, baked, grilled, shish kabobed-"

"Shish kabobed! I think that would be a wonderful idea! That way we could get everyone involved and save a lot of hard labor. What do you think, monk?"

"It is your desire, my liege."

"Come, come; if you were going to be served a tasty meal as a shish kabob, what would you want to go with your meat?"

"Radishes… maybe a few carrots and turnips… a sweet potato or two."

"That sounds grand. Get her whole family and grill them all on a shish kabob for me on an open flame." The Kappa King grumbled, waving his hand in dismissal.

Miroku bowed as three of the kappa guards grabbed the woman, who now looked around twenty or so and began to drag her off. She began to curse and scream, trying to keep from being taken when she locked eyes with Miroku.

"I curse you, monk! You're a traitor to your own people! How could you do this?! How do you do this to my family?!"

As she was dragged away, the same murderous, confused, and angry look was in her eyes as it was with all the rest. He had no choice in the matter, just like the other didn't. Someone touched his shoulder and he turned, finding a village leader watching him with a haunted and sad expression.

"You did good, monk."

"I just sent that woman and her family to their deaths; how is that good? The more we sit here and let this overgrown monster control us, the less human we become. We are literally becoming emotionally numb to these encounters."

"We are still trying to formulate a plan."

"I would rather die than send another human being into the mouth of that frog."

"Then why haven't you tried to do anything about it?" a priestess growled. "If you're so high and mighty, monk, then why haven't you refused?"

Miroku looked only thirteen at the moment but he didn't hesitate to undo his robes and drop them, showing the bodily damage he had been inflicted. After the initial shock, he pulled them back on and then pointed to his hand that held the wind tunnel.

"Do you see this bandage? Underneath the beads and the cloth is a curse from another enemy. It's a wind tunnel that sucks anything and everything into a void. If I don't do this, that bastard ties me to a wall with my hand held out and tied by a string. He then takes a person and puts them in the room with me. He has a kappa guard pull the beads off of my arm and watch as a person tries not to be sucked in, screaming in horror about not wanting to die. If I don't do this… I bear the guilt of killing even more people and the thought that they were sucked into _my_ wind tunnel attached to _my_ arm? I haven't forgotten those who were test subjects and leverage to me… At least with this sick and twisted job, I can sometimes sway the Kappa King, if only for a day."

The priestess turned away and seemed satisfied with that answer. Miroku looked over and saw a shiny bit of metal from a shield. He took in his appearance and sighed. He wasn't like these other people… he was associated with Kagome and InuYasha and Sesshomaru. If he didn't do what the Kappa King said, he would regress on his own. He knew if he regressed any further that he would be prime target to the Kappa King and he would also be no help to his friends when they came to save everyone. He had heard that InuYasha and Sesshomaru had escaped and he was so overjoyed but it was getting hard to do this job… He was going to regress again soon, he knew it.

* * *

 **poor miroku is caught in a triangle of impossibilities. a rock, a hard place, and a brick wall. and what exactly happened to sesshomaru? questions, questions...**


End file.
